Bunions form when repeated pressure is placed on the big toe, forcing the joint to shift and creating the tell-tale lump. As this happens, the big toe angles sharply inwards while the bony bump juts outwards.<\/p>\n
![\"Bunions](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/101688935-0-image-m-11_1756559069090.jpg\")
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Bunions are believed to have troubled stars including Victoria Beckham, Amal Clooney and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex<\/p>\n
Symptoms range from redness where shoes rub against the joint, swelling and thickened skin, to restricted movement in the big toe and searing pain that makes even short walks a struggle.<\/p>\n
Surgery is often seen as the only solution but it is difficult to access on the NHS and can cost thousands of pounds privately.<\/p>\n
Experts stress, however, that spotting the early signs and seeking treatment can in many cases prevent the need for an operation. \u2018Severe bunions that leave people unable to walk and requiring surgery do not happen overnight,\u2019 says Martin Harvey, a consultant podiatrist at The Priory Hospital in Birmingham.<\/p>\n
\u2018They can develop in a patient\u2019s 30s before they even take note in their 60s. At the start, they will just be a small deviation of the big toe and people may not be suffering pain but if you spot them early, you can ease pain and prevent serious damage.\u2019<\/p>\n
He explains that there are a number of simple changes that can help prevent serious bunions.<\/p>\n
He says: \u2018Shoes are a trigger for bunions and the ones people tend to wear are terrible. You want to wear trainers as much as possible, avoid narrow or flat shoes and consider buying rocker sole shoes which help alignment.<\/p>\n
\u2018Making this change is not going to stop you getting bunions, unless you started aged ten, but it will certainly help alleviate the pain.\u2019<\/p>\n
![\"Women](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/101688943-0-image-a-12_1756559085692.jpg\")
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Women are twice as likely to be affected by bunions \u2013 and while footwear such as high heels may make the problem worse, genetics is thought to play the biggest role<\/p>\n
Experts also recommend insoles. Mr Harvey says: \u2018A pair from a pharmacist will do the trick but a customised pair from a podiatrist for \u00a3100 will offer most support.\u2019<\/p>\n
While over-the-counter insoles can help, he warns to avoid correctors or splints \u2013 plastic or fabric devices that strap on to the foot in an attempt to hold the big toe straight \u2013 often sold online.<\/p>\n
One free way forward is doing simple exercises for a few minutes daily. These include toe curls \u2013 using your toes to grip and scrunch up a towel, strengthening muscles under the foot and supporting the arch. Another is picking up marbles with your toes, which can improve strength and flexibility and ease bunion symptoms.<\/p>\n
Podiatric surgeon Mr Kaser Nazir, from Jorja Healthcare, says: \u2018Essentially what aggravates a bunion, is too much instability and rotation in the foot. So by doing these exercises at the early stage of a bunion forming, you are able to slow the speed of progression.<\/p>\n
\u2018However, once the big toe has started to deviate and is pointing towards the second, it is too late and the exercises will not work.\u2019<\/p>\n
Though mild cases of bunions can often be managed by a podiatrist, severe cases may require surgery.The operation is sometimes available on the NHS if the bunion has a severe impact on daily life \u2013 but in most cases patients must pay thousands of pounds to go private. The most common procedure is an osteotomy, where the bone is realigned.<\/p>\n
Experts caution against \u2018quick fix\u2019 operations such as bump shaving, which rarely works long-term.<\/p>\n
Earlier intervention can sometimes mean a smaller operation with faster recovery.<\/p>\n
Mr Nazir adds: \u2018You cannot remove a bunion with non-surgical interventions, so if a patient is suffering from persistent pain, a loss of function, like not being able to walk, then we recommend surgery. Each patient\u2019s bunion is different so it is important they see a specialist.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Millions are plagued by bunions \u2013 but experts warn too many ignore the problem until drastic surgery is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":104266,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[50844,2426,97,59,102,104,56,54,55,5932],"class_list":{"0":"post-104265","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-amal-clooney","9":"tag-birmingham","10":"tag-dailymail","11":"tag-gb","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-nhs","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-unitedkingdom","17":"tag-victoria-beckham"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104265"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104265\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}