A bunion is a bony bump on the outside of the foot. “It’s often a deformity of the bones of the foot. It’s how the bones are aligned that often is the root cause of why the foot is in that sort of shape,” said Lee Health Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Dianna Young.
Bunions affect about a third of all adults in the United States. They’re more common in women than men. They can cause foot pain, stiffness, redness, and swelling. If left untreated, they can get worse over time. “Sometimes it’s difficulty wearing shoes, in other cases, someone could have arthritis of the joint around it that also could affect how they’re functioning, so they could have quite a bit of pain,” said Dr. Young.
There’s both surgical and non-surgical treatment available. “Generally nonsurgical treatment involves wearing shoes that accommodate for the size of the person‘s foot, so wider width comfortable sort of shoe,” said Dr. Young.
Surgery may be a better option for patients depending on their alignment. A bunion surgery would entail, “Cutting the bone typically, as well as adjusting the soft tissues in that area,” said Dr. Young.
A doctor may ask for an X-ay to determine the best course of action for each patient. You can learn more or schedule an appointment by searching for orthopedics on leehealth.org.
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Lee Health in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of health care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For more than 100 years, we’ve been providing our community with personalized preventative health services and primary care to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries. Lee Health - Caring People. Inspiring Care.
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