Tag: hallux valgus

Bunion correctors are braces or splints that are used at night and are meant to help the positioning of the great toe in people who have bunions. Bunions are an enlargement of the great toe joint of the foot that is connected with what is known as a valgus alignment of the great toe. The brace supports the great toe or hallux in the ideal place throughout sleep in order to correct the alignment. There certainly is a great deal of discourse regarding if this actually works or not. The trouble with the theory is that bunions are caused by a mix of a hereditary component, foot biomechanics and also the use of tight improperly fitted footwear. So in the daytime which you have all those forces making the bunion along with the hope is that using the bunion corrector during the night time over comes those forces that happen when walking throughout the day, which is most likely not possible.

And so should you use bunion correctors? There is some research that they could definitely improve the angle of the big toe or hallux by a few degrees after a month or so of use. There's been no study completed to see if that progress gets any better with a longer term use or if that improvement is just short lived in case you stop using the brace. Despite that, many experts recommend still using them even though they don't improve the angle of the toe much. The reason being, even though bunion correctors don't correct the toe, they may still keep the toe mobile and flexible which is a beneficial thing for that joint over the longer term as the bunion ailment progresses. Along with using these correctors additionally it is most likely crucial that you get professional advice about the best shoes to wear to avoid the bunion from getting any worse and also do some exercises to improve the muscle strength about the joint.

Bunions are an enlargement of the great toe or hallux joint of the foot and are commonly associated with what is known as hallux valgus that is a deviation of the great toe towards the outside. They may or may not be painful, but the likelihood of them to be painful is great. For that reason prevention and therapy is typically indicated. They certainly tend to be progressive and become worse over time. Really the only way to get rid of bunions is with surgery, but that is not necessarily a good option at first. One of many ways that they may very well be treated is by using what is known as bunion correctors, however they are usually accompanied by the question, do they work? They are splints or braces put on during the night to attempt to correct the deviation of big toe to improve its appearance.

A great deal is determined by what is understood by “working”. There is a lot of opinion as to them both working and not working with almost no scientific research. There is one published scientific study which did show that the angle of the great toe will be improved by a few degrees after one months use, but this was not a study of any longer than that one month. So, yes, it does appear that bunion correctors can work in the short term at improving the angle of the hallux valgus or bunion a few degrees.

Aside from that piece of research all we can depend on is expert thoughts and opinions about bunion correctors. The majority of that opinion is in line with that study. Nonetheless, it also looks like even if the use of the bunion corrector does not improve the angle of the big toe or hallux or just improves it a tiny amount, it is entirely possible that the corrector could go a long way to preventing the condition from becoming even worse. That is important as bunions are progressive. The splint can also be beneficial at stretching out the ligaments surrounding the joint and that can be useful with pain inside the joint.