I inherited my mother’s family feet: she, her sisters, mother and close cousins all have bunions, where the big toe is misaligned where it joins your foot.
I’ve been told most of my life - including by podiatrists - that I’d eventually need surgery. I don’t wear heels a lot but I am pushing 40 and … yeahhhh, recently my feet are starting to ache around the big toe joint.
I looked at splints for your feet that purportedly slow the progression. They seem to work sorta like braces for your teeth, and I will say that back when I consistently wore Vibram 5 Fingers my feet had better alignment, temporarily.
Has anyone here tried the splints? Or the various other gadgets out there? Or know (or is) a podiatrist who’d like to weigh in?
Heh, I’m going in for my second surgery next month – last one was almost 20 years ago. Same foot, more massive issue. Let’s just say more than one bone needs to be broken and reset :eek:
Anyway, you’re right about the temporary nature of such braces. They work like your Vibram 5 Fingers, in that as long as you’re wearing them, everything’s aligned. However, you automatically return to your organic misalignment within a few hours after taking them off.
When I tried them I had issues wearing my work shoes. The one I had also had a strap which attempted to realign my hammertoe. It was very uncomfortable, so between that and the work shoe issue I gave up. YMMV, though.
I was thinking more about nighttime wear. I mostly wear strappy shoes during the day (it’s summertime in TX need I say more?) but under-shoe daytime wear is a possibility too, I guess.
tip-tapping away by phone, but why would you care?
I’ve had surgery on both of my feet for bunions and hammertoes caused by my rheumatoid arthritis. I never tried the splints or braces, but my toes were so far gone, they probably wouldn’t have done me much good. I know, unfortunately the bunions won’t get any better, and like you, I don’t wear high heels. What does your podiatrist say? If he’s a good doctor he should be upfront with you and tell you if splints will buy you some time. I don’t see them being a long term solution though, and as another poster pointed out, when you remove them, you are back to square one and dealing with pain again. I wish you well and I hope whatever you decide it all works out for you. Sore feet bite.
I’ve got a bunion on my left foot. Two gel toe spacers during the day, splint at night. I had a podiatrist who used tape to pull the toe away from the foot, but it was awkward to create every day. If this is slowing down the progression, I’d hate to see what my foot would look like without it. The pain is not in the bunion, but the joint. If I let my foot bend at the toe even a little, it really hurts. I expect I will eventually need some kind of surgery Since I haven’t had insurance for years, I have no idea how I will pay for it.
Man, my damm right foot is starting to ache so much. I finally got fed up enough to search here for advice or anecdotes … and apparently had a similar idea half a year ago.
Dammit. I don’t suppose modern medicine has discovered any miracles since then? I’m between jobs right now, so no insurance at the moment either.
Wait. Actually I do have a followup question. This surgery … what’s the post op recovery like, and more importantly, does it FIX the problem permanently? Would I just be trading one kind of pain for another?
Bunion splints do little to correct or alleviate bunion (hallux abducto valgus) deformity or symptoms. Excessive pronation/flat feet (pes planus) foot types typically develop bunions (as well as other problems, like plantar fasciitis, hammertoes, etc.), so orthotics, proper supportive shoes and off-loading shields are better options than bunion splints to alleviate pain, control excessive pronation and limit the progression of bunions. However, no device will reduce an already developed bunion.
Surgery (of all types) should always be the option of last resort, and in the case of bunions, should only be considered to alleviate pain (not for purely cosmetic reasons). There are many types of bunion surgeries: some simple (bumpectomy), some more complex (re-align the first ray and stabilize with titanium hardware) and your surgeon (if he/she’s any good) will determine the procedure best suited for you. But, in general, plan on at least 6-8 weeks hobbling around in a post-op shoe or walking cast.
If I had taken care of my bunion issue sooner rather than later, I never would’ve been in the situation where I am now. My first surgery didn’t “take”, so to speak, but it took almost 20 years for the issue to return badly enough, and then some, to require the surgery I had over the summer. My surgeon (orthopedic – specializes in foot/ankle issues as opposed to podiatrist) said that I should have dealt with it when my big toe started drifting under my second toe causing what became a rather severe hammertoe. It would’ve been easier to deal with, plus a shorter recovery time. That was, what, almost 10 years ago? I ignored it because I was our breadwinner working 50+ hours a week. What’s done is done but still.
Nothing is 100% guaranteed. According to my ortho surgeon, hardware gives assurance that the issue probably won’t return, but if your foot’s natural inclination is to turn a particular way, it’ll be very difficult to train it not to do such because it’s so used to being that way. For instance, my big toe is always going to lean just enough against my second toe for me to think that everything will return. My ortho says no, I’ve got pins holding my big toe in position, but the muscles naturally go that way.
I really don’t want to scare you but I’m the poster child of why one shouldn’t’ wait. My bunion upended not just my second toe but also my third. All three metatarsals had to be surgically broken and reset with pins and screws. The middle two healed nicely but I now have a nonunion on my big toe, which is not a good thing because most of one’s balance/locomotion is based off that toe. I’ve been out of work since the summer because I can’t continuously stand for more than than an hour or two. I also have additional stuff I cannot do (no flat shoes/going barefoot, no running, etc.)
The nonunion is unusual but not unheard of. Basically my big toe metatarsal never fused. I have preexisting issues which make me more suspectible to having it. Unfortunately none of them were taken into consideration before the surgery.
I tried bunion splints and ended up in excruciating pain one morning after sleeping in a very cold room where my feet were cadaver-chilled. The splints didn’t really do much. I’ve also had rubbery bunion shields (stopped wearing those, they were annoying to put on).
In addition to flat feet, I have a leg length discrepancy that became more pronounced after hip replacement at age 51 and then other side at age 52. Due to degenerative osteoarthritis, aka “wear and tear”. My left leg is now 1cm longer than my right. I can wear heel lifts in my shoes. However, barefoot movement had to be re-learned. Yoga, dance, etc. It is what it is. I was happy to be rid of arthritic hip pain.
The bunions really weren’t noticeable until my hip really started to go about 3 years back, then they ballooned. After hip replacement, I got orthotics for my shoes but didn’t care for them. I’m afraid if I get bunion surgery the problem will just recur because the root cause is still there: my feet are still flat, and I don’t wear orthotic shoes 24-7.
So anyway, to answer your question, bunion splints did not work.
I have insurance now, but I haven’t been to a podiatrist or orthopedist yet. My new GP just glanced at my foot and told me the horror stories he knew from people who didn’t get the surgery in a timely fashion. I figure I’ll see a podiatrist next month and go from there.
And I get to go through this hell again with my other foot at some point. The saving grace is that it isn’t anywhere near as bad as the other one, so yes, I’m not going to wait as long as I did the last time.