For most, the change of seasons brings happy thoughts of warmer weather and wearing flip-flops again. Of course, on the Central Coast of California, it is not unusual to see some donning flip-flips on our “colder” days as well. However, for some, wearing flip-flops remains a distant dream no matter what time of year it is because of bunions.

How do these come about? There are many contributing factors: prolonged wear of shoes that are too small or too pointy, foot trauma/past injury, genetics, foot structure, medical conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, to name some. For some, they are completely asymptomatic but unsightly and can cause embarrassment. For others, they can be painful and significantly impact activity choices. 

Although bunions can be completely asymptomatic at their actual location, they still have biomechanical implications for other joints further up the kinetic chain. When the foot is unable to naturally roll-off the great toe as it does in normal gait, it must make a compensation or deviation away from efficient motion. This shifts unnecessary stress to the next joint up the chain. Pain can then manifest itself in the ankle, knee, hip, pelvis, and spine, depending on how the individual is shifting the load to transfer their weight to the other limb as one does to walk or run.

Depending on severity, bunions can either be corrected or reduced using Functional Manual Therapy techniques. This unique approach not only looks at the great toe, but the other structures supporting it. It is not a simple fix as one would like to think after watching infomercials promoting the next great product that will straighten the foot out over night! A Functional Manual Therapist will assess and treat other structures further up the limb that are contributing to the dysfunctional lines of tension and stress. This improves weight distribution throughout the system to allow the excessive angulation of the toe to decrease or for some, completely resolve.

At Revive and Thrive, we treat both symptomatic bunions and asymptomatic. Sometimes we’re treating asymptomatic bunions to correct another orthopedic dysfunction if it’s found to be the primary or secondary driver of the symptomatic condition. Other times we’re treating asymptomatic bunions simply to improve the aesthetics of the foot…for flip-flop season!