Pain and mobility
Bunions
A bunion is the big toe joint drifting out of line, and the bump is the joint itself rather than a growth. Nothing short of surgery straightens one, and most people do not need surgery — what they need is the pressure off and the foot working better.
Treatment Summary
How long
30 minutes
What it costs
£35
No new patient fee.
Getting in
Free parking at the Tesco next door, under a minute's walk.
What we do
Does it hurt
No. The examination is comfortable and we tell you before we press anything. If a corn has built up over the bump we take it down in the same appointment, and that part is painless.
A short line in a patient's own words goes here, once we have a real one to use.
Placeholder — name and town go here.
How to tell a bunion from an ordinary sore joint.
Not every painful big toe joint is a bunion, and not every bunion hurts. A stiff joint with no drift is a different problem with different answers, so it is worth knowing which one you have before anybody talks about treatment.
An early bunion, the big toe just starting to lean — at Complete Chiropody and Podiatry in Chester-le-Street
A prominent bunion with reddened skin over the joint — at Complete Chiropody and Podiatry in Chester-le-Street
A severe bunion, the big toe crossing over the second toe — at Complete Chiropody and Podiatry in Chester-le-Street
Treatment Information
What we do about it.
01
We look at the joint properly
How far the toe has drifted matters less than how much movement is left in the joint and how much pain you are actually in. Plenty of impressive-looking bunions are painless, and plenty of mild ones hurt every day.
02
We deal with what is sore now
Most of the immediate pain comes from a corn over the bump, or hard skin under the ball of the foot where the load has shifted. That is dealt with in the appointment and the relief is immediate.
03
We take the pressure off
The right shoe does more than anything we could sell you: deep, wide across the joint, and fastened so your foot is not sliding forward into it. Padding, a toe prop or an insole can help redistribute the load where footwear alone is not enough.
04
We are straight about surgery
Nothing non-surgical straightens a bunion. Splints and toe separators sold online do not correct the joint, whatever the packaging claims. If the pain is not manageable and it is limiting what you do, the conversation is with an orthopaedic foot and ankle surgeon, and we will write to your GP.
What you can do at home
Get it looked at sooner if…
A hot swollen joint is not a bunion flaring — it can be gout or an infection, and both need seeing quickly. Ring us rather than waiting.
Online booking opens soon
Our appointment diary is not open just yet. Leave your details and be the first to know when it opens, so you can pick a time that suits you, evenings and weekends included.
Diary opening soonOr ring 07838 652554 and we will find you a time.
Rather talk to someone?
Ring during opening hours and you will speak to a person. Home visits are arranged this way.
A bunion is hallux valgus: lateral deviation of the hallux with medial deviation of the first metatarsal, so the prominence is the metatarsal head rather than new bone. It is progressive, and progression is driven by joint mechanics and inherited foot type more than by footwear, although footwear largely determines how much it hurts. Conservative management is symptomatic — debridement of overlying callus, footwear with an adequate toe box, and orthoses to address first ray function and transfer load off the second metatarsal head. Orthoses and splints do not reverse the deformity, and the evidence for night splints in adults is poor. Associated problems worth checking for are second metatarsophalangeal joint overload, hammer toe of the second toe, and hallux rigidus, which is a different diagnosis with different management. Surgical correction is an osteotomy or fusion, belongs with an orthopaedic foot and ankle surgeon, and is offered for pain rather than appearance.
Questions
Things people ask about bunions.
Not on their own. Bunions run in families and come from how the foot is built and how it moves. Narrow shoes make one hurt sooner and get worse faster, so footwear matters — but you did not do this to yourself.
No. The ones sold online may feel pleasant for an hour and they do not correct the joint. We would rather tell you that than take your money for one.
Only if the pain is limiting what you do and the simpler things have not worked. Surgery is good at pain and it is not a cosmetic quick fix — there is a real recovery, and results are best when it is done for the right reason.
It usually drifts further over years rather than months. Whether it hurts more is a separate question, and that is the part we can often do something about.
Yes, and that is often what people notice most. The corn over the bump and the callus under the ball of the foot are dealt with in the same thirty-minute appointment.
Still have a question?
Ask it here and we will come back to you by email, usually the same working day. If it is urgent, calling is quicker.
Online booking opens soon
Our appointment diary is not open just yet. Leave your details and be the first to know when it opens, so you can pick a time that suits you, evenings and weekends included.
Diary opening soonOr ring 07838 652554 and we will find you a time.
Rather talk to someone?
Ring during opening hours and you will speak to a person. Home visits are arranged this way.
Bunions
treatment in Chester-le-Street
Our clinic is in Chester-le-Street, right next to Tesco, so parking is free and it is less than a minute's walk from the car park to our door. We also see people from the towns and villages around it, and visit at home across the same area.