Will My Bunions Go Away on Their Own?

You watch as your big toe slowly migrates toward your second toe, and you wonder if this is a one-way trip. In short, yes, unless we intervene. Bunions, once they’ve formed, are not only your new normal — what you’re seeing now can get worse.

Here at LaSante Health Center, our team includes podiatry experts who specialize in all things foot-related. One of the more common problems we treat are bunions that start out innocently enough, but soon lead to pain and discomfort as they grow bigger.

So if you’re developing bunions and you want to know about the next steps, read on. These bony growths aren’t going anywhere if you don’t take action.

Anatomy of bunions

The bony protrusion on the inside of your foot at the base of your big toe is the first thing you may notice about a bunion, but there’s more to the foot deformity than meets the eye.

A bunion forms because of an imbalance in your metatarsophalangeal joint (MTP), which is where the metatarsal bone and the first bone in your big toe (your phalanx) meet. 

As the metatarsal shifts to the inside of your foot, your phalanx is pushed in the opposite direction, toward the outside of your foot, which is what causes your big toe to shift over toward your second toe.

This shift in your MTP causes your body to try to offset the imbalance by creating more bone in the joint, which is what creates the bony protrusion. And once this bone grows, it won’t go away unless we remove it.

Who gets bunions

Not only do bunions not go away on their own once they form, they’re often progressive. This might explain why 1 in 3 people over the age of 65 has bunions.

Another issue that you can’t reverse is that bunions are often hereditary — about 70% of people with bunions have a family history of the foot problem.

Another group that’s in the line of fire when it comes to bunions are women. Thanks to weaker connective tissues in their feet and high heels with pointy toes, women develop bunions 10 times more than men.

Our point here is that there is a lot that’s outside your control in dealing with bunions, but this doesn't mean that you don’t have options.

Getting help for your bunions

The reason we want to emphasize that bunions not only don’t go away on their own, but that they’re also progressive, is that early intervention can be very helpful.

If you have bunions, we want you to come see us so that we can recommend some strategies for preventing them from getting any bigger (and potentially more painful). During their earlier stages, we can treat bunions with:

• Custom orthotics
• Change in footwear — more room for your toes to spread out
• Padding
• Exercises

If your bunions are large and causing you problems, we might suggest a bunionectomy, an outpatient procedure in which we shave down the bony protrusion and realign your MTP joint.

If you’d like to learn more about the different treatment options for your bunions, please book an appointment online or call us at our Brooklyn, New York, office at 718-246-5700 to schedule a visit.

We serve the Flatbush and East Flatbush, Crown Heights, Park Slope, Little Haiti, Little Caribbean, and Prospect Lefferts Gardens communities.