Hallux Abductovalgus, or more commonly known as a bunion, is formed on the inside portion of your big toe joint on your foot. This will present as a large bump of bone with overlying soft tissue, redness, and pain over the area in question due to inflammation. With progression of the bunion, the big toe will deviate more and more towards your other toes while creating an eminence of bone at the base of your big toe. Bunions can be caused by over-pronation seen in flat feet, hypermobility/excessive motion in the first ray (big toe), limb length discrepancies, tight Achilles tendon or calf muscles, or improper footwear. Unfortunately, runners are at higher susceptibility to developing bunions due to the narrow toe box of many running shoes which compress the toes together and create friction with repetitive activity resulting in pain or discomfort.
Treatment options:
Some conservative options for bunion deformities include:
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Toe spacers placed in between the big toe and 2nd digit
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Bunion splints such as the Darco bunion splint
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Padding, tube foam, and gel pads
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Running shoes with wider toe box
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Injection therapy
If conservative treatment fails and you are still experiencing pain while you are running, surgical options can be implemented to relieve your bunion pain. Once your podiatrist has evaluated your feet both clinically and radiographically with x-rays, they will determine which surgical procedure will best correct your bump based on the severity of your condition. Even though there are a wide variety of bunion surgeries that can be used to fix your painful bunion, they all have one commonality: get rid of your bump and place your big toe back into a normal position.
If you have questions about how to eliminate bunion pain while running, please give us a call at 406-721-4007.