A bunion is not a growth on the side of the foot. It is the first metatarsal drifting inward while the big toe leans outward, which pushes the joint between them into prominence. The tendency is largely inherited — but footwear determines how quickly it progresses and how much it hurts along the way.
The toe box is the whole game
Almost every shoe sold tapers to a point well before your toes do. Wearing that shape for years pushes the big toe further into the deformity it is already tending toward.
Stand on a piece of paper and trace around your foot. Then put your shoe on the tracing. If the shoe is narrower than the outline at the widest point, it is too narrow — and most are.
What to look for
- A toe box wide enough that your toes splay naturally, not squeezed together.
- Soft, flexible uppers with no seam sitting over the bunion.
- A heel under 4cm — height shifts weight forward onto the forefoot.
- Enough depth that the joint is not pressed from above.
- A removable insole, so you can fit an orthotic if you need one.
Buy shoes at the end of the day, when feet are at their largest, and fit to the larger foot. Most people have one.
What does not work
Toe spacers and splints do not correct a bunion. They can relieve discomfort by keeping pressure off the joint, and that is worth having, but the bone position does not change.
Nor does any cream, oil or soak reverse it. What natural care can do is manage the inflammation and the skin over the joint, which is often where the actual pain comes from.
Managing the pain
An Epsom salt soak reduces swelling around the joint. Three drops of lavender or chamomile oil in a tablespoon of carrier oil, worked gently around — not directly on — an inflamed joint, calms it. Frankincense is worth using over weeks for its anti-inflammatory action.
Keep the skin over the bunion supple so it does not thicken and crack under the rubbing.
When surgery comes up
Bunion surgery is for pain and function, not appearance. It is worth discussing when the joint hurts in reasonable shoes, when the deformity is crowding the smaller toes, or when it stops you doing things you want to do.
A podiatrist can tell you where yours sits on that scale — this guide comes out of Dr. Maasi J. Smith's practice. Read bunions for the full entry.
Getting fitted properly
Most people have not had their feet measured since childhood, and feet change — they lengthen and widen with age, after pregnancy, and with weight change. A large proportion of adults are wearing shoes a size too small and have adapted to it.
Get both feet measured for length and width, standing, at the end of the day. Width is the measurement that matters here and the one shops usually skip. If you are told you need a wide fitting, believe it — a wide shoe in your correct length will do more for a bunion than any pad or splint sold for the purpose.
There should be roughly a thumb's width between your longest toe and the end of the shoe. Note that your longest toe is not necessarily your big toe; for many people it is the second.
Do not buy shoes expecting them to stretch. Leather gives a little, and only a little. A shoe that hurts in the shop will hurt in six months, and meanwhile it is pushing the joint further.