Bunions ugh!!

[samba]

Hi there

I'm going to gross you out now, I have a bunion on my right big toe which started with a bad break, it has twice had very painful surgery on it in the past. Unfortunately it's still there and my big toe is overlapping the others so badly now that its causing a problem with them as well, I have tried various appliances in an effort to push it into place at least whilst skating but nothing works and its getting so bad now its starting to give me real problems, in that I am having to cut the amount of time on the ice short.

Does anyone know of anything that will pull it into place and that I can also wear inside my boot. Any suggestions would be most welcome because if it gets any worse (and I think it will) I will probably have to give up at least competing, I cant stand the thought of another painful surgery. :cry:

Thanks
Grace

[Skate@Delaware]

Have you seen a specialist about this? If you haven't, you should. If you have and they haven't offered anything useful, then you should seek a 2nd opinion.

There is more than one type of bunion device out there as well as splinting. The problem is what will fit inside the confines of the skate. You will probably get some grief about this from the specialist about this.....

Good luck!

(My bunion is growing, but I'm not getting surgery yet).

[samba]

Thanks Skate@Delaware, Yes you are right, I had grief from the last specialist, he gave me a sealed letter after my last op to give my GP which basically said if I didnt skate so much the problem wouldnt be so bad, you can probably guess what happened to it.

I guess what I'm looking for now is a quick fix as in some kind a appliance to wear.

I hope you take care of your foot I'm sure if I had done something earlier rather than later I wouldn't have had so many problems

Cheers
Grace

[Mrs Redboots]

(My bunion is growing, but I'm not getting surgery yet).So is mine. I'm having to pad it to be comfortable inside my skates - mostly because I'm too idle to go and get the toe-box punched out. If I did, it would solve the problem, and the bunion would probably shrink again!

[Skate@Delaware]

I actually had another bunion start forming by my pinkie toe; not from too-tight skates, but from too big! My coach said it was from my feet sloshing around in my boots and slamming against the sides. So, I had to get new boots (I was already using 3 insoles to take up the slack)....My other bunion is not too much of a big deal (unless it rains-ouch!)

There aren't too many good podiatrists in my area at this time. They have all told me to give up skating, running, exercising, etc.... that surgery would keep me off my feet for 3 months etc... I am not happy with remarks like that. So, I will wait a bit.

[phoenix]

I don't know anything about bunions, but this page (http://www.footsmart.com/Default.aspx) has a page dedicated to various things to wear for them. Might be worth a look.

I also use the little "Toe Jellies" that are made for ballet dancers, to pad a spot where my skate rubs my toe. They're like tiny little bunga pads for your toes! Don't know if that would be useful or not. The ones I have are made by Bunheads & I got them from a dance supply place.

[samba]

umm The regulator for over night and the toe spreader for in the boot look good. We can get the toe jellies you mention over here, so now I know what I am looking for I can probably get the other two items from the same place.

Thanks Phoenix that's really helpful.

Cheers
Grace

[Skate@Delaware]

The bunion sling looks nice! Something like that is probably all I need for now. My toe is just a little off-maybe 10-15 degrees.........or maybe it's the rest of me that's out of whack!! :lol:
PS-I just ordered from them-so soon I will get this at least slowed down. Thanks for the link!

[Elsy2]

Just FYI, some of the products on that site can be found in drug stores, at least the toe spreaders are there.

I have a bunion pad from Bunga. It is gel lined and has a larger gel pad over the bunion area. A strap over your midfoot keeps it on, and I would guess it might keep your toe alligned a little based on how this feels on me. My daughter never used it, but I have it on right now and it feels pretty good.

We would punch out the bunion area at least every 3 months while she skated. The boot seemed to revert back over time and cause pain.

I had a tailor's bunion by the little toe, and had a steroid injection for it. Thank goodness it never flared up again, but my lesson is don't let a bunion get so painful that you need a shot! Yikes!

[phoenix]

fyi, Bunheads also make toe spacers made out of gel, & here in the States they only cost $5-7.00. That's cheaper than what's listed on that site.

Here's one link (http://www.discountdance.com/frame_set.php3?mf=/dancewear/page_SHOE_p1.html) w/ all that stuff. (click on "toe pads" at the bottom left) I think skate supply stores should carry these things too!!!

[crayonskater]

Grace, I don't know how your bunion came about, but mine (on both feet) came not from wearing pointy shoes or high heels, but is more or less genetic (it started when I was about fourteen.) With low arches my feet tend to splay like little ducky feet -- my little toes roll out sideways, and my big toes develop bunions.

Anyhow, my point. With my feet it's not about pressure so much as it is about support. My feet usually drive me nuts if all I'm doing is wearing running shoes, especially the bunions. Some things that have helped me:
-Making sure the arch of my foot, my calf muscle, and just generally ankles get a bit of stretching, to get rid of any tension.
-Having good arch support in your skates. I put insoles in my old pair of skates to help stabilize my heel and my arch; it seemed to take some of the pressure off my toes because my arch was carrying its share.
-Ice down afterwards if the bunions are b*tching. :)
-Sometimes I'd take a sports creme like Icy Hot and put it on my toes and then put on socks, at home at night, Seems to help a bit.
-I used the toe-straight between-the-toes device when I was younger. It just annoyed me and messed with my balance, but again, that might have to do more with WHY my bunions came about.
-One thing about pressure-relieving pads--you'll want to make sure they're thin enough that they don't themselves add to the 'narrowness' of the boot squeezing your feet.
--One final bit of old wives' advice... I have no idea why this works. Regular old cherries. Eat some. Allegedly there's something about the fruit that breaks up uric acid that tends to irritate the big toe joint. It seems to work for me. No clue why, or if it's just psychological, but, well, they're cherries. Taste good and healthy for you, anyway. :)

[samba]

Thanks everyone for the useful advice.

My goodness Crayonskater, it's a wonder you can walk let alone skate but a lot of what you say makes sense. I have very flat feet and my son has also inherited them, he also has this funny thing you have with his little toes that I have never noticed on anyone else.

Anyway I will certainly follow the cherry diet as they are in season over here at the moment and I love them, in fact I have a bowl of them beside me as I type, yum.

Cheers
Grace

[Chico]

Not to sound like a blooming idiot but what exactly is a bunion? I thought it was just a bump but after reading all the post I'm not so sure.

[samba]

When I was little I thought people were talking about onions on their feet.
Well you have the basics of it, problem is from what you have already read, its far more complicated. Many causes, breaks, ill-fitting shoes, flat feet and plain bad luck. The big problem is that it deforms the big toe and makes it lean against/over or under the remaining toes which can cause balance problems and problems with fitting shoe/boots, the bump is called a burser (collection of fluid over the joint) and is ****** painful. Take care, you really dont want one.

Cheers
Grace

[Mrs Redboots]

Grace, I went to Boots today ("Boots the Chemist" (http://www.boots.com/) is the biggest pharmacy chain over here, for those of you who don't live in the UK) and have bought a re-usable bunion gel pad, which hooks over your big toe and is smoothed into place. Haven't tried it in my skate yet, but it only cost £5.49, and can be washed, and all sorts, so I think it may be a great investment, much better than the disposable kind! I will keep you posted.....

[skatingatty]

Bunions-- it's a big, swollen bump/protusion at the base of the big toe. I'll spare you all from posting a picture of mine. I have heard that bunion surgery can take 6 months to heal, and since mine only hurt when I walk a lot or skate, I'm refraining from getting them removed. I don't understand how people can wear devices inside their skates though. My skates are so snug (my feet are wide, in addition to the bunions) that I can't or don't want to stuff anything else in them, even footed tights. A while back I wore this silicone, oval shaped device in the evenings between my 1st and second toes, but it didn't do anything. Looking on the brighter side of things, since my feet are so gross and misshapen, I don't buy many shoes and never get pedicures.

[Mrs Redboots]

The pad I bought yesterday was absolutely magic! Skated for far longer than usual before my feet even thought about hurting, and the pad itself was very comfortable. I thought at first I might notice it between my toes, but not at all.

And the joy is, if I take it off and store it in my skate bag, I can then apply arnica to the bunion, in the hope it will make it less inflamed.... before, with the sticky-on pads, I had to wait until they came off.

So all in all I think I've made a good investment.

[Skate@Delaware]

Someone else suggested arnica for bruises-I think I might get some, although it's too late for the one I got on my knee (zamboni'd on power-3's)...
AND
can't wait for my bunion contraption to arrive; since I ordered it my bunion has been aching...(psychosomatic pain or the weather I'm not sure)...

[samba]

The pad I bought yesterday was absolutely magic! Skated for far longer than usual before my feet even thought about hurting, and the pad itself was very comfortable. I thought at first I might notice it between my toes, but not at all.

And the joy is, if I take it off and store it in my skate bag, I can then apply arnica to the bunion, in the hope it will make it less inflamed.... before, with the sticky-on pads, I had to wait until they came off.

So all in all I think I've made a good investment.

Great, I'm off to the shops at the weekend, Thanks Annabel.

Grace

[Skate@Delaware]

I got my "Toe Alignment Splint by Darco" from Footsmart in the mail today. Hopefully, by wearing it everyday and night (right) it will help prevent this bunion from becoming more serious. We will see... except I can't wear it tonight-date night with hubby and wearing sandals-don't want to ruin the effect! (i swear i will put it on tonight at bedtime!)

It came with other "attachments" for the other piggies for correcting hammer toes (don't have) and the bunion on the little piggie, which I have on the other foot, which is not really bad or bothersome (yet)....

It's made of elastic banding and velcro, which could be imitated if you sew......

Good luck to everyone else! (did you notice-seems to be the ladies that are suffering???? makes one wonder why?)