Who Gets Bunions, and Why?
Many of our patients at Clifton Foot & Ankle Center come to us for help with bunions. A bunion is a bony bump jutting outward from your big toe. The unsightly deformity results from the joint at the base of your big toe veering out of alignment.
Here are several reasons why that joint, called the metatarsophalangeal joint (MTP for short), starts to jut out:
- Genetics: If bunions run in your family, you’re at a higher risk of developing a bunion yourself.
- Foot anatomy: Certain characteristics, such as low or no arches (flat feet), make you more likely to get a bunion. The same is true if you were born with an MTP joint slightly out of alignment.
- Sex: More women suffer from bunions than men.
- Shoe choices: Years of wearing high heels or shoes with narrow, tight toe boxes can influence the start and progression of a bunion.
- Level of activity: The more pressure you put on the MTP joint, the more likely you’ll develop a bunion. Think of professional athletes and dedicated runners, for example, who constantly stress their feet and joints.
Bunions may not be a big deal – at first.
However, if you leave them to their devices, bunions will worsen. The bony bump gets bigger, redder, and more inflamed. Your big toe will begin to point inward, overlapping your lesser toes and causing calluses to form. Walking, exercising, and even putting on shoes will become difficult and painful.
The progression from “no big deal” to “I can’t walk without pain” can take several years. If you’ve arrived at that point – or want to prevent getting there – our board-certified podiatrist, Dr. Kenneth R. Wilhelm, can help tremendously. We offer custom orthotics, cortisone injections, prescription-strength anti-inflammatory medications, ultrasound therapy, and surgery to correct the misalignment permanently.
For more information or a consultation with Dr. Wilhelm, call our office in Centreville (Fairfax County), Virginia, at (703) 996-3000. You may also contact us online for an appointment.
