Symptoms
How We Can Help You for Bunions
Our doctors have the expertise and experience needed to precisely diagnose and treat all types of bunions, the condition where a bony bump forms on the side of your foot, usually below your big toe.
We deliver world-class care to help relieve symptoms, which may include pain, stiffness, overlapping toes, and other problems. Our team offers the complete range of treatment options but always emphasizes the least invasive approach possible.
In some cases, completely noninvasive treatment, such as placing inserts in your shoes, is effective to reduce discomfort. In other cases, ice, medication, or physical therapy may be appropriate. In addition, we perform the full range of surgical procedures, from the common to the most complex. Beyond relieving your symptoms, our goal is to enable you to return to your normal activities as quickly and safely as possible.
Our world-class orthopaedic surgeons work closely with other specialists such as physical therapists. As a team, they develop a complete care plan personalized to your condition and unique needs. In addition, Stanford Health Care patients with bunions may have opportunities to join research studies of new treatment approaches not yet available anywhere else.
What We Offer You for Bunions
- Specialized expertise from one of the world’s leading programs focused on diagnosing and treating bunions and all other orthopaedic conditions.
- Team-based treatment planning that brings together highly experienced specialists who create a comprehensive care plan personalized to your unique needs.
- Advanced treatment options, always emphasizing the least invasive approaches possible but also providing state-of-the-art surgery whenever needed.
- Full support that includes care planning and follow-up as well as strategies to prevent bunions from reoccurring.
- Clinical trial opportunities to join research studies of new innovations in the diagnosis and treatment of bunions.
- Ease of access with highly trained specialists conveniently located close to where you work or live.
Treatments for Bunions
A bunion is a bony bump that forms on the side of your foot, usually below your big toe. You may develop a bunionette, or tailor’s bunion, below your little toe, on the outside of your foot. Bunions form when your shoes repeatedly rub your foot and squeeze your toes together. Some people inherit a genetic tendency to develop bunions.
Bunions may cause pain or discomfort. Doctors treat bunions to make it easier and less painful to walk and do other daily activities. If you have a bunion that isn’t painful, home treatment may prevent it from getting worse.
If other treatments don’t help, your doctor might recommend surgery. Stanford’s orthopaedic surgeons are knowledgeable about foot and ankle structure and performance. They have expertise in many types of bunion surgery.
Stanford’s experienced foot and orthopaedic specialists offer precise, personalized assessment to help you make an informed decision about bunion treatment.
Footwear and orthotics
Nonsurgical Treatment
Surgery
Avoiding toe compression can reduce the pain and discomfort of bunions. To support your feet, your doctor may recommend:
Well-fitting shoes
Wear shoes that are wide enough to let your toes move comfortably. Be sure the toe box (the area around your toes) doesn’t rub or press your feet. Avoid shoes that put pressure on your big toe joint, including tight and narrow footwear.
Low heels
Choose heels lower than 2 inches, with good arch supports.
Pads and orthotics
Use bunion pads, arch supports, or custom-made supports (orthotics). They can help redistribute your weight while you are walking and take pressure off your big toe. Ask your doctor to help you choose the right kind of pads.
Your doctor may use nonsurgical treatment to decrease pressure on your big toe and relieve pain. Potential treatments include:
Ice
Apply ice to the affected foot for 10 to 20 minutes at a time to help relieve pain and reduce swelling. Put a thin cloth between the ice and your skin. Prop up your foot so that your toe is higher than your heart.
Anti-inflammatory medication
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen or naproxen can reduce swelling and pain.
Physical therapy
Our specialized physical therapists teach you special exercises to improve your gait and build strength.
Corticosteroid injection
If other treatments don't help, your doctor may recommend corticosteroid injections to reduce pain from bursitis (inflammation of the bursa, the sac that protects the joint).
If nonsurgical treatment hasn’t relieved toe pain and the bunion interferes with your daily activities, your doctor might suggest surgery. Bunion surgery helps restore normal alignment to your toe joint and helps relieve pain.
There are dozens of kinds of bunion surgery, so your surgeon will customize the procedure to your needs. Stanford’s foot surgeons offer every available type of bunion surgery, including:
Bunionectomy
Your surgeon shaves away the bony part of the bunion that protrudes from your foot. Bunionectomies treat mild bunions.
Tendon and ligament repair
Ligaments hold your bones together, and tendons connect muscles to bones. If these soft tissues are too tight or too loose, your toe joint can deform more easily. Your surgeon might adjust the length of your tendons and ligaments to correct your foot structure. Surgeons often realign the joint at the same time (osteotomy).
Joint realignment (osteotomy)
Severe bunions affect the shape of your metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint, the large joint just below your big toe. Skilled Stanford surgeons can cut the bone in the joint or remove a small wedge of bone to adjust its shape. Then they use plates or screws to realign your toe joint. Osteotomy often includes tendon and ligament repair.
Exostectomy
An exostectomy removes the bump from your big toe joint without realigning the joint. Surgeons usually don’t perform this procedure on its own. Instead, they perform exostectomy along with osteotomy or soft tissue procedures (tendon and ligament repair).
Arthrodesis
In some people, severe arthritis (painful joint inflammation and stiffness) causes a bunion to grow. Your surgeon can remove the arthritic surface and rewire the joint together while it heals.
Resection arthroplasty
If you aren’t a candidate for other types of surgery, your surgeon might remove only the damaged part of the joint. As your foot heals, a flexible scar forms in place of the joint. Afterward, your toe is shorter, which can make it harder to push off when walking, so surgeons prefer other procedures whenever possible.
What to Expect
Bunion surgery is not a cosmetic procedure. It is a serious surgical intervention with a lengthy recovery. Surgery doesn’t always eliminate the bunion entirely, but most people have less pain and regain their mobility after surgery. Full recovery may take up to six to 12 months.
It’s important to have realistic expectations about surgery. Bunion surgery does not return your foot to its original shape. After surgery, you’ll need to choose shoes carefully to avoid bunion regrowth.
Avoiding toe compression can reduce the pain and discomfort of bunions. To support your feet, your doctor may recommend:
Well-fitting shoes
Wear shoes that are wide enough to let your toes move comfortably. Be sure the toe box (the area around your toes) doesn’t rub or press your feet. Avoid shoes that put pressure on your big toe joint, including tight and narrow footwear.
Low heels
Choose heels lower than 2 inches, with good arch supports.
Pads and orthotics
Use bunion pads, arch supports, or custom-made supports (orthotics). They can help redistribute your weight while you are walking and take pressure off your big toe. Ask your doctor to help you choose the right kind of pads.
close Footwear and orthotics
Your doctor may use nonsurgical treatment to decrease pressure on your big toe and relieve pain. Potential treatments include:
Ice
Apply ice to the affected foot for 10 to 20 minutes at a time to help relieve pain and reduce swelling. Put a thin cloth between the ice and your skin. Prop up your foot so that your toe is higher than your heart.
Anti-inflammatory medication
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen or naproxen can reduce swelling and pain.
Physical therapy
Our specialized physical therapists teach you special exercises to improve your gait and build strength.
Corticosteroid injection
If other treatments don't help, your doctor may recommend corticosteroid injections to reduce pain from bursitis (inflammation of the bursa, the sac that protects the joint).
close Nonsurgical Treatment
If nonsurgical treatment hasn’t relieved toe pain and the bunion interferes with your daily activities, your doctor might suggest surgery. Bunion surgery helps restore normal alignment to your toe joint and helps relieve pain.
There are dozens of kinds of bunion surgery, so your surgeon will customize the procedure to your needs. Stanford’s foot surgeons offer every available type of bunion surgery, including:
Bunionectomy
Your surgeon shaves away the bony part of the bunion that protrudes from your foot. Bunionectomies treat mild bunions.
Tendon and ligament repair
Ligaments hold your bones together, and tendons connect muscles to bones. If these soft tissues are too tight or too loose, your toe joint can deform more easily. Your surgeon might adjust the length of your tendons and ligaments to correct your foot structure. Surgeons often realign the joint at the same time (osteotomy).
Joint realignment (osteotomy)
Severe bunions affect the shape of your metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint, the large joint just below your big toe. Skilled Stanford surgeons can cut the bone in the joint or remove a small wedge of bone to adjust its shape. Then they use plates or screws to realign your toe joint. Osteotomy often includes tendon and ligament repair.
Exostectomy
An exostectomy removes the bump from your big toe joint without realigning the joint. Surgeons usually don’t perform this procedure on its own. Instead, they perform exostectomy along with osteotomy or soft tissue procedures (tendon and ligament repair).
Arthrodesis
In some people, severe arthritis (painful joint inflammation and stiffness) causes a bunion to grow. Your surgeon can remove the arthritic surface and rewire the joint together while it heals.
Resection arthroplasty
If you aren’t a candidate for other types of surgery, your surgeon might remove only the damaged part of the joint. As your foot heals, a flexible scar forms in place of the joint. Afterward, your toe is shorter, which can make it harder to push off when walking, so surgeons prefer other procedures whenever possible.
What to Expect
Bunion surgery is not a cosmetic procedure. It is a serious surgical intervention with a lengthy recovery. Surgery doesn’t always eliminate the bunion entirely, but most people have less pain and regain their mobility after surgery. Full recovery may take up to six to 12 months.
It’s important to have realistic expectations about surgery. Bunion surgery does not return your foot to its original shape. After surgery, you’ll need to choose shoes carefully to avoid bunion regrowth.
close Surgery
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Clinical Trials
Clinical trials are research studies that evaluate a new medical approach, device, drug, or other treatment. As a Stanford Health Care patient, you may be eligible to participate in open clinical trials.
Open trials refer to studies that are currently recruiting participants or that may recruit participants in the near future.
What Are Bunions?
Our Clinics
Our service offers easy access to innovative foot and ankle care personalized to your needs. Our team seamlessly coordinates complete services to diagnose and treat the full spectrum of foot and ankle conditions, from the common to those so complex.
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