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Sunday, August 2, 2020

Do Bunions (HV) cause instablility? Good Study and Perspective

https://jfootankleres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13047-020-00411-1

As we get bunions, the functions of the big toe joint weaken. This is something podiatrists would all agree on, and documented in the article above. I am not a surgeon, and so I try to keep my athletes away from surgery until the disability from the surgery (sometimes permanent) matches the disability from the bunion itself.
From a biomechanics standpoint, we are unstable from a bunion for at least 2 major reasons. First of all, the big toe joint is at the end of the medial arch which is vital to proper strong push off from the ground. You can imagine from the photo above that the bunion is not going to make the medial arch stable, thus pronation and all it's problems will occur.
Secondly, the bunion weakened the power of the joint (as the above article clearly explains). If the big toe joint is basically out of joint, it loses its normal power to push off the ground and that also will affect the foot, ankle, leg, knee, hip, etc etc.
Therefore, one little joint is so vital to make stable, and the observation of a bunion is the first clue something is amiss. Orthotic devices to stabilize the arch indirectly help, toe separators to place the bunion back into Stage II anytime you are wearing shoes, Yoga toes, Abductor and Flexor strengthening exercises, CorrectToes, taping, and the list goes on and it adequately covered in this blog.
Hidden inside shoes normally, and normally non painful, the big toe joint may be silently screaming at you for attention. 

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Thank you very much for leaving a comment. Due to my time restraints, some comments may not be answered.I will answer questions that I feel will help the community as a whole.. I can only answer medical questions in a general form. No specific answers can be given. Please consult a podiatrist, therapist, orthopedist, or sports medicine physician in your area for specific questions.