How useful are the bunion correctors?

Bunions are a very common condition of the foot. Bunions are primarily caused by the footwear which are too tight pushing the big toe over and resulting in the metatarsophalangeal joint at the base of the big toe to become bigger. That is what a bunion is. The continued strain from the shoe may become rather painful and osteoarthritis can develop inside the joint. Bunions are more prevalent in women, quite possibly as they are very likely to wear more firmly fitting high heel shoes. The only way to make them go away will be to have surgery. Because we walk on the feet and that great toe is a crucial joint, surgery on that joint is associated with a period of at least a few months of impairment after the surgery. On that basis, lots of people would like to steer clear of the surgical option if they can.

There are actually no conservative alternatives to make them go away. However, there are various non-surgical solutions that could stop them being painful, but they are unable to make them go away. There are the bunion correctors which are splints that you wear through the night that are supposed to correct the angle of the big toe. These bunion correctors do keep the big toe mobile and flexible which is a good thing, but they do not make anymore than a few degrees difference to the angle of the toe. Exercises to maintain the joint mobile and supple are often useful with some of the pain that may develop within the joint. When there is pain on the joint from pressure from the shoe, then it is important that the shoes be wide enough and fitted adequately. Various pads could be used to keep force off the enlarged joint. These types of non-surgical choices is not going to make bunions disappear, however they go along way to helping any pain that they may have from the bunions.