How useful are the bunion correctors?

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.

How useful are the bunion correctors?

Bunions are an enlargement of the great toe or hallux joint of the foot and are frequently related to what is known as hallux valgus that is a deviation of the great toe or hallux towards the outside. They may or may not be painful, but the possibility of them to be painful is high. For that reason prevention and treatment is usually typically indicated. They do tend to be progressive to get worse with time. The only real way to get rid of bunions is with surgery, but that's not necessarily a good solution in the beginning. One way in which they may be treated is by using what is called bunion correctors, however they are often coupled with the question, would they work? They are splints or braces used at night in an attempt to correct the deviation of big toe to improve its look.

A great deal is determined by what is understood by “working”. There's a lot of thoughts and opinions as to them both working and not working with minimal scientific evidence. There's one published study that did reveal that the angle of the great toe will be improved by a few degrees after one months use, but this wasn't research of any more than that one month. Thus, yes, it does seem that bunion correctors can work in the short term at improving the angle of the hallux valgus or bunion a few degrees.

Aside from that piece of research all we can rely on is expert opinion. Most of that opinion is in line with that research study. Nevertheless, it also appears that even if the use of the bunion corrector doesn't improve the angle of the great toe or just helps it a tiny amount, it can be entirely possible that the corrector can go a long way to preventing the problem from becoming worse. That is significant as bunions are progressive. The splint may also be very helpful at stretching out the ligaments surrounding the joint which can be helpful with pain inside the joint.