Bunions are a very frequent problem of the feet. Bunions are largely caused by the shoes which might be too tight pressing the big toe over and resulting in the metatarsophalangeal joint at the base of the big toe to become bigger. That's what a bunion is. The continuing pressure from the shoe may become quite painful and arthritis can occur in the joint. They are more prevalent in women, probably since they are more likely to wear more tightly fitting high heel shoes. The only way to get rid of bunions would be to have surgery. As we walk on our feet and that great toe is a vital joint, surgery on that joint is associated with a time of at the very least several months of disability after the surgery. Because of this, lots of people want to avoid the surgical option when they can.
There really are no conservative alternatives to make them go away. However, there are many different conservative solutions that might stop them being painful, however they are not able to get rid of them. You will find the bunion correctors that are splints that you put on through the night which are speculated to fix the angle of the big toe. These bunion correctors do keep your big toe mobile and flexible which is a positive thing, however they tend not to make anymore than a few degrees change to the angle of the toe. Exercises to keep the big toe joint mobile and flexible are frequently helpful with some of the pain that can occur inside the joint. If there is pain around the metatarsophalangeal joint from strain from the shoe, then it's important that the footwear be broad enough and fitted properly. Various pads can be used to keep force off the enlarged joint. These kinds of non-surgical choices won't make them go away, but they go along way to helping any symptoms that they may have from them.