Bunions

Looking for a doctor to help with your bunions foot condition in or around San Francisco, the Bay Area, or Sacramento? Novato Foot and Ankle Center can diagnose and treat your bunions condition.

Bunions are often caused by biomechanical and structural abnormalities of the foot. Certain foot types can be inherited and make the foot prone to developing a bunion. This leads to a progressive deformity as the bones become increasingly angulated. This causes the big toe to gradually lean towards the second toe, causing a prominent bump on the outside of the foot. Although this prominence can remain asymptomatic, it may become aggravated and painful with tight shoes or high heels.

Treatment for a bunion begins with conservative measures and progresses to surgical intervention if the symptoms cannot be managed. As this is a progressive deformity, the changes will not be reversed with conservative treatment and can only be corrected with surgery. Conservative treatment options may include changes in shoe gear, padding over the painful prominence, activity modifications, injection therapy and orthotic devices. Custom orthotics can often support the foot structure to delay progression of the deformity.

If the pain cannot be managed with conservative treatments alone, surgical intervention may be the next consideration. The first step will be to take x-rays of the affected foot to determine the extent of the changes in bone structure. Based on the x-ray findings and other important factors including age and activity level, the most appropriate surgery would be planned. The post-operative recovery period also varies and depends on the type of procedure that is performed by the foot and ankle surgeon.

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