If you have bunions and they’re causing pain, see your healthcare provider. They can create a treatment plan that will help relieve your symptoms.

Your doctor will examine your feet and may order x-rays to see how the bunion is affecting the alignment of your foot bones, particularly the big toe. They’ll ask about your health history, too.

Nonsurgical Treatment

Bunions are a painful bump that forms on the side of the big toe. They develop when the joint of the big toe shifts, pushing the big toe towards the smaller toes. While it’s impossible to get rid of a bunion, there are ways to ease the pain and prevent it from getting worse.

You can try over-the-counter or prescription pads, shoe inserts (orthoses or orthotics), a toe spacer, and ice packs. You can also wear shoes that fit well and take a break from high-impact activities, especially those that require standing for long periods of time.

A GP or podiatrist can diagnose bunions by asking about your symptoms and examining your foot. They may ask you to walk around and may take X-rays of your foot. You might need blood tests to rule out other health conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis or gout, which can also cause bunions.

Leaving a bunion untreated can cause it to grow bigger and more painful over time, which may lead to other foot problems, such as hammertoes, bursitis (a fluid-filled sac that cushions the ball of your foot), or bone spurs. It can also make it harder to walk or participate in daily activities.

If nonsurgical treatment doesn’t help, your provider may suggest steroid injections, which can reduce swelling and relieve pain. They may also recommend shoe inserts that are shaped to your foot, which can redistribute pressure and help reposition the big toe. Your provider may also advise splinting, which can keep your big toe in the proper position.

Physical therapy and exercises can improve flexibility and help reduce pain by strengthening the muscles, tendons, and ligaments in your foot. They can also teach you to correctly put weight on your feet, which helps alleviate pressure on the big toe and bunion area.

Bunion surgery can correct the deformity, but it cannot remove a bunion completely or stop it from coming back. Most people can return to their daily routine within a few days of minimally invasive bunion surgery. They can even return to activities such as running and wearing high heels, though recovery times can vary based on age and activity levels.

Orthotics

Bunion treatment without surgery focuses on reducing pain and keeping the bunion from getting worse. It also might include padding and wearing shoes that fit well.

A bunion (hallux valgus) is a bony bump at the base of your big toe on the inside of your foot. It forms when your feet’s natural alignment changes, causing your big toe to drift toward the smaller toes. The resulting misalignment puts pressure on the toe and may cause it to rub against the inside of your shoe. Over time, that can lead to painful skin problems and calluses.

Your healthcare provider can usually tell if you have a bunion by looking at your foot and the shape of your toe joint. They may order an X-ray to see the alignment of your foot bones and check for damage to the MTP joint.

If you have a mild bunion, you may not need treatment. But you should seek care if your bunion is painful, if your toe becomes numb or you develop corns and calluses. It’s important to get treatment early, especially if you wear shoes that put a lot of pressure on your toes.

Bunion pads, which you can buy over-the-counter without a prescription, might help cushion your big toe joint and reduce pain from rubbing against the inside of your shoe. Taping or splinting your toe might also help keep your toes aligned and reduce pain. Over-the-counter or custom shoe inserts (orthotics) might also help relieve pain by spreading out the pressure of your weight on your feet and toes.

Icing your foot, using a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug or a corticosteroid cream and doing physical therapy might also help. If other treatments don’t relieve your pain or if your bunion gets bigger, you might need surgery. Your healthcare provider might use a minimally invasive procedure, in which they make small cuts (with a burr) instead of making large incisions. They might use a steroid injection or use another method, such as an osteotomy, to correct your bunion and realign your big toe. They might also use a shaver to remove the bump or a screw to hold your toe in place.

Ice

The feet are complex instruments that must balance weight, provide mobility and support our body weight. If we upset that delicate balance with footwear that forces our toes into too small a space, it can lead to misalignment and pain, especially in the metatarsophalangeal joint. Bunions are a common example of this. Women are more likely to develop bunions, possibly because the high heels they wear force their toes into a narrow point that concentrates pressure.

Over time, this can cause the big toe joint to deform, with the bunion developing as a bony bump on the side of the foot. The bunion can also push the little toe into an unnatural position, which can also cause pain and discomfort.

Several treatment options may help reduce the pain and prevent bunions from progressing. A foot health provider can recommend shoe inserts that spread pressure evenly as you move your feet, which might ease your symptoms and slow the development of the bunion. Bunion pads or cushions—like those sold at drugstores without a prescription—act as a buffer between your shoe and the bunion, helping to minimize friction. You might also take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) like acetaminophen or ibuprofen to control your pain.

A physical therapist might suggest exercises or stretches that can strengthen your foot muscles and help keep your toes in their natural positions. A whirlpool or ultrasound therapy might also help relieve pain and reduce inflammation.

Your healthcare professional might recommend surgery to reduce your pain and prevent the bunion from worsening if other treatments don’t relieve your symptoms. In surgery, your doctor might use one of a few procedures to correct the alignment of the toe joint. They might cut the big toe joint and remove the bunion, or they might do a procedure called an osteotomy, which involves cutting the bone, adding pins, screws or plates and then moving the bones into their proper position. They might also perform an arthroplasty, in which they use a small implant to replace the bunion. These procedures can usually be done on an outpatient basis.

Surgery

Bunions may worsen over time if they’re left untreated. If nonsurgical treatments don’t relieve pain or allow you to walk normally, your doctor may recommend surgery to correct the deformity and ease symptoms. Surgery usually involves cutting and shifting the bone, and sometimes removing or realigning muscles, tendons, and ligaments.

Your doctor will perform a physical exam and take X-rays of your foot in a weightbearing position to assess the extent of your bunion deformity. Your doctor will also ask about your general health and lifestyle. Because surgery can cause infection, your doctor will prescribe antibiotics before and after your operation.

You will need to wear a special shoe that has a wide, deep toe box and avoid wearing tight, pointy shoes. Your surgeon will remove the bony bump and, if necessary, correct the alignment of your big toe and other toes with screws or pins. You will need a long period of recovery before you can return to normal activities, including walking.

Bunion removal surgery is typically performed as a day procedure under local anesthesia or general anesthesia. Your surgeon will use metal plates, screws, wires and special bandages to stabilize your foot. This surgery is not done for cosmetic reasons, but to improve the function of your foot and eliminate pain.

Some surgeons use a minimally invasive procedure called lapidoplasty, which involves small incisions (usually about one-tenth of an inch) to remove the bunion and make changes in the toe joint. This technique can result in faster healing and less pain, but it’s not suitable for all patients or for every bunion.

Another surgical option is fusion bunion surgery, which fuses the first metatarsal bone (the bone at the base of your big toe) with the bone directly behind it, called the medial cuneiform. This fusion can help prevent your bunion from returning and can reduce pain and improve the stability of your toe. Your surgeon will wrap your foot in a special way to keep it stable, and you’ll need a few weeks to recover before you can return to most normal activities.