Before You Consider Bunion Surgery On Your Toes (...Been There, Done That!)
I had a bunionectomy at the ripe old age of 24. The reason for this surgery was to repair the damage I had done to my feet with high-heeled shoes.
Photo by Dr. Henri Lelievre
FootSmart says the following factors often lead to bunions:
- An active lifestyle.
- Improperly fitting shoes: A bunion causes pain when walking or form initially, if your shoes do not have enough room in the toe box.
- Foot type: A foot that pronates, or rolls inward excessively when walking, has a higher tendency for causing a bunion.
My Experience With Bunion Surgery
Looking back, I know I had all of these issues that eventually led to my foot problems. I wore 3- to 4-inch high heel shoes since the age of 14. I walked in them, sometimes up to a mile. I ran in them. And I could easily catch a bus in my high-heeled shoes.
In fact, I had quite an impressive collection of high-heeled shoes and wore them daily. I couldn't get enough of them. My feet however, were unhappy and decided to rebel against the abuse.
When I realized that walking had become very painful (even after I traded out my heels for sneakers for my mile-long hike to work), I went to my doctor who referred me to a foot specialist. He looked at my feet that seemed perfectly normal to me and announced that my feet had become horribly disfigured and that I needed surgery.
He wanted to operate on both feet, but I insisted on one foot at a time. So he performed a bunionectomy on my right foot and also straightened out my big toe and inserted pins in that foot.
The surgery went well, and my foot recovered in a reasonable amount of time. With the exception of discomfort during the rainy months, there is little evidence that I ever even had the surgery on my right foot.
I never did have the surgery on my left foot though. After the surgery, I gave away all of my beautiful high heeled shoes, and settled into lower 1-inche shoes with plenty of toe space. Over the next year or so, the pain in my left foot subsided, the knot on the side of my foot went down, and my big toe straightened out. My left foot that was obviously disfigured over 15 years ago looks just as good as my surgically improved right foot.
What You Can Do To Prevent A Bunionectomy
FootCare Central provides some excellent tips to help you avoid pain and prevent bunion surgery using toe braces, sleeves, spreaders, guards and more.
They say to prevent a bunionectomy, you should:
Select shoes based on how they fit your unique set of feet, not by the show size marking, since sizes can vary depending on brands.
Measure your feet regularly since the size of people's feet change as they get older. Also be sure to measure both feet. Sometimes one foot may be larger than the other. Always purchase shoes to fit the largest foot.
Measure your feet and try on shoes at the end of the day when your feet are the largest.
Check out The Bunion Experiment. It's a website by a woman who's in search of a natural remedy for bunions. If you have bunions and would like to avoid surgery, you may want to follow her journey.
I am a Reflexologist and look at feet in a totally different perspective. I am also a Master Toe Reader. There are many woman out there who wear high-heels and never get bunions and many woman who have never worn high-heels who have terrible bunions. And of course some get bunion surgery and the bunions never come back and others get the surgery and they come back within years. So what is the common denominator? I feel it is our emotions, thoughts and perceptions. They house themselves in our feet. Ask someone who has a bunion if they are the type of person to carry all their emotions inside and not show them to others no matter how painful they are. They shoulder a lot of responsibility and have a hard time delegating to others for fear they will not be thought good enough. They also take on others problems, thinking it is their problem to solve. Just thoughts on my part and 5 yrs of study of what shows up in the toes.
My daughter was 14 when she underwent a double bunionectomy. She was in a lot of pain and 5 years later her bunions are coming back even though she wears good shoes. Surgery is not always the best option so consider it carefully. I am glad that it worked out for you though.
Hi Andrea. I have a bunion on my right foot and recently went to a doctor to see about having it removed. He recommended I start wearing splints at night which I find are very uncomfortable. I'm really scared about having the surgery because I heard it is very painful. Do you have any problems with your feet now? I heard walking barefoot is uncomfortable after the foot has healed up.
Thanks
I'm happy to hear that you are pain-free with your feet back to normal. But, in my experience, your story isn't necessarily true for everyone. I am 19 and I have had bunions my entire life. I never wear high-heeled shoes, and I have orthodic insoles to help my bunions--but they have only gotten worse. Whatever I do to try and resolve the problem, I will need to have a bunionectomy within the next few years.
That's incredible. I can't believe that your foot went back to normal on its own. I have bunions and I don't want to have surgery, I heards it pretty painful. I have been wearing a bunion splint, the Pedifix bunion day spint, and it seems to really help. The pain subsides when i wear it. Did you use a bunion splint after you had surgery? I found my splint online at Therawear.com they had lots of bunion products. If anyone wants to check it out I think the website is http://www.therawear.com/bunions-new.html. I hope these can help someone!
It has been many years since my foot surgery... well over a decade. With the exception of a light scar, my feet look identical and completely normal even though I never had surgery on the second foot. I also haven't worn pointed toe shoes or stiletto heels since then.
hi,Andrea. i just want to know if your left foot totally got back to normal. are you still having problems with it? my sister has small bunions she wears special insoles & toe spacers all thetime,her doctor thinks they're getting better. so do they s get better in time ? can you send us some pictures ?
thanks. take care.