Have you spotted a bulging bump, swelling, redness, corns, calluses, or experienced soreness on your big toe? You may have a bunion that initially only affects your looks without causing significant pain or discomfort, requiring no treatment. Nonetheless, New York bunion can become more than an aesthetic problem if left untreated. The bunion can advance despite your home remedies, such as wearing wider shoes. Early treatment can help you avoid surgery since measures like custom orthotics, injections, strapping, gain training, and physical therapy may suffice. Among the top signs that you should see a podiatrist for bunion treatment includes:
Persistent pain
A bunion can respond to your care measures like using an ice pack, soft pads, weight loss, and pain relievers. If you experience toe pain, especially extending to the foot, despite following such care measures, you should seek medical assistance. Persistent pain may indicate developing complications like bursitis, which results from the fluid-filled pads cushioning the bones near joints being inflamed.
Worsening bunion
Initial bunion stages may cause no deformity, and you may only spot a slight bump. As it progresses, it can cause moderate to severe deformity. If, in your self-examination, you notice the bunion causing an increasingly visible bump on the toe joint, it indicates progression. If untreated, the bunion can lead to severe deformity, increasing your risk of arthritis. The deformity causes abnormal joint positioning. The prolonged abnormal positioning and repetitive trauma can set arthritis in motion, causing more damage and chronic pain.
Decreased mobility
As bunions progress, they can cause more than pain. The deformity can affect mobility, especially considering the effect on the alignment of your feet. The mobility impact could only seem to affect the toe, but as you make unconscious adjustments, like trying to minimize the pressure on the toe as you walk, you can cause more damage. As alignment worsens, you cause more pressure on other parts of your foot, leg, and spine. This can significantly affect your mobility and ability to manage your daily activities. This means that untreated pain can affect how you manage your normal activities, which can cause serious physical and mental problems. Prompt treatment can help keep the bunion from causing severe deformity, which could require surgical correction.
You have diabetes
Diabetes impacts blood flow and can cause nerve damage. This means that the bunion you ignore as a minor problem could be worse, considering the affected pain sensation. If you have diabetes, you should visit a podiatrist if you notice any growths or lesions on your feet, even without serious signs and symptoms. Prompt intervention and treatment can help improve prognosis. You can avoid complications like diabetic foot problems that could result in amputation.
Bunions can make your daily life more difficult. You could struggle to find a shoe that fits properly or void activities that require you to show your feet due to the unsightly view. Even without pain, soreness, or a significant lump, you should visit a podiatrist for a thorough examination, recommendation, and treatment. Contact AIRE Podiatry Studio today for all your bunion-related needs
