Bunions are a slow-developing foot condition, so you can breathe a little easier knowing that you’re not going to develop a bunion overnight. However, once a bunion develops, are you destined for the operating table, or can you manage the condition conservatively? In today’s blog, we explain whether or not you’ll need surgery on your bunion.
Do All Bunions Need Surgery?
No, not all bunions need surgery. That said, all bunions do require intervention, because if you just keep going about your business as if nothing is wrong, there is a very good chance that you will need surgery down the road. That’s because a bunion involves a slow shifting of the big toe joint. If you continue to stress the joint and force your feet into shoes that put abnormal pressure on the big toe joint, the joint will only continue to shift out of its natural location.
Caught early enough, you can limit this joint shifting and curb uncomfortable symptoms. You’ll need to be a little more aware of the types of shoes and toe boxes that you subject your feet too, but footwear changes and some light physical therapy exercises can usually help you stave off surgery.
Surgery becomes more of a question when the big toe joint damage is more severe. If you have a rather large bony prominence, or the bump is becoming uncomfortable or painful, it becomes more unlikely that conservative care will be able to provide enough relief. Conservative techniques may help a little, but these non-operative techniques are not going to be able to shift your big toe joint back into its original position. It has suffered too much stress and shifted in an unnatural manner, and the only way to reset this joint will be with a corrective procedure.
The good news is that bunion surgery is incredibly successful at correcting a bunion the vast majority of time. However, no surgery goes perfectly every single time, and if your doctor can treat the bunion non-operatively, that will be the preferred method. Surgery is reserved for patients who do not respond to conservative techniques or for those with significant dysfunction such that the bunion will only continue to worsen unless surgically addressed.
At the end of the day, conservative treatment will be your first line of defense, but you can get a better idea of whether or not surgery may be in your future by assessing the severity of your bunion. If there is a large prominence or it is painful to bear weight through your foot, odds are too much joint shifting has occurred for the problem to be managed with conservative means.
If you’re wondering how to best treat your bunion, pick up the phone and connect with Dr. Silverman and the team at Silverman Ankle & Foot. For more information, or for help with a different foot issue, give our team a call today at (952) 224-8500.
