
Foot and Ankle
Bunions
What it is
If the joint that connects your big toe to your foot has a swollen, sore bump, you may have a bunion.
More than half the women in America have bunions, a common deformity often blamed on wearing tight, narrow shoes, and high heels. Bunions may occur in families, but many are from wearing tight shoes. Nine out of ten bunions happen to women. Nine out of ten women wear shoes that are too small.
Too-tight shoes can also cause other disabling foot problems like corns, calluses and hammertoes.
With a bunion, the base of your big toe (metatarsophalangeal joint) gets larger and sticks out. The skin over it may be red and tender. Wearing any type of shoe may be painful. This joint flexes with every step you take. The bigger your bunion gets, the more it hurts to walk. Bursitis may set in. Your big toe may angle toward your second toe, or even move all the way under it. The skin on the bottom of your foot may become thicker and painful. Pressure from your big toe may force your second toe out of alignment, sometimes overlapping your third toe. An advanced bunion may make your foot look grotesque. If your bunion gets too severe, it may be difficult to walk. Your pain may become chronic and you may develop arthritis.
{rokbox title=|AAOS :: American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons| size=|750 450| text=|More information.|}https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00155{/rokbox}
Source from AAOS, Viewmedica, WebMD