I have had a bunion on my right toe since I was about 16 years old. Here I am 12 years later feeling lower back pain on my right side of my body.
I went in to see several doctors and it turns out that my bunion is the root of all evil.
Because my bunion has pushed my toe inwards, the ligaments have ultimately made me flat footed on the right side. As a result, my ankle has lowered, causing my knee to lose stability and my lower back is taking the brunt end of the damage since it’s the only thing that’s relatively the way it should be.
Now, I can only train legs or run long distances if I’m wearing custom orthotics and I have my knee wrapped tightly to stabilize and keep the swelling out.
I have to get surgery to correct the bunion and then rehab everything else.
My balance is horrible on my right leg as well.
Anyone else gone through something similar and successfully rehabilitated out of it?
I question if the bunion caused all of the problems or if the poor foot and ankle mobility/mechanics caused the bunion which then worsened the situation. Regardless, try some exercises to bring back the arch in your foot (foot doming drills, strength exercises for invertors and dorsiflexors, lengthen evertors and plantarflexors, etc).
See a previous post on this forum regarding flat feet for a full explanation of what I mean and what others advised as well. Orthodics are great in the short term, but IMO are like trying to use a bandaid as a tourniquet in most situations. Another option you have is surgical removal of the bunion.
This just scared the shit out of me. I have a HUGE bunion on my right foot, and I am 20 yrs old. I have always attributed my lower back pain (right side) to anterior pelvic tilt simply because I have all the symptoms, though not much of a tilt…
I have a bunion on my right foot, too. I use these little yogatoes for about 10 minutes a day, while I check email or something else that allows me to remain seated with my feet elevated. They don’t fix the problem, but they give you relief from the pain - though the first time you wear them they hurt! Now they feel fantastic. I have the blue ones, don’t know about the other brands.
Thanks for all the replies. Surgery is my last option but it looks like I’m going to have to go that route. In terms of relieving the pain, I’m going to get the Yogatoes on a regular basis. The pain is becoming unbearable to say the least.
[quote]Cronus wrote:
This just scared the shit out of me. I have a HUGE bunion on my right foot, and I am 20 yrs old. I have always attributed my lower back pain (right side) to anterior pelvic tilt simply because I have all the symptoms, though not much of a tilt…[/quote]
Crazy how many problems can be attributed to what goes on at the ground level, huh? This looks like one of those cases where too much information may have been a bad thing, haha
[quote]OGC wrote:
I have had a bunion on my right toe since I was about 16 years old. Here I am 12 years later feeling lower back pain on my right side of my body.
I went in to see several doctors and it turns out that my bunion is the root of all evil.
Because my bunion has pushed my toe inwards, the ligaments have ultimately made me flat footed on the right side. As a result, my ankle has lowered, causing my knee to lose stability and my lower back is taking the brunt end of the damage since it’s the only thing that’s relatively the way it should be.
Now, I can only train legs or run long distances if I’m wearing custom orthotics and I have my knee wrapped tightly to stabilize and keep the swelling out.
I have to get surgery to correct the bunion and then rehab everything else.
My balance is horrible on my right leg as well.
Anyone else gone through something similar and successfully rehabilitated out of it?[/quote]
I had a very large bunion on my left foot, and I have experienced your same problems. The bunion was so large that I had to buy split-size shoes. Last year I underwent surgery (I’m 27 now). I didn’t choose a DPM, but a skilful, reliable MD who specializes in orthopedic surgery.
He used an excellent technique (he was averse to minimally invasive surgery, and so I am). The rehab took one month: since then I haven’t had the least problem my foot, so I recommend surgery to all bunion sufferers (provided that then bunion really causes problems: it should be never operated on only for cosmetic reasons.
[quote]Cronus wrote:
This just scared the shit out of me. I have a HUGE bunion on my right foot, and I am 20 yrs old. I have always attributed my lower back pain (right side) to anterior pelvic tilt simply because I have all the symptoms, though not much of a tilt…[/quote]
I had a very large bunion on my left foot, and I have experienced your same problems. The bunion was so large that I had to buy split-size shoes. Last year I underwent surgery (I’m 27 now). I didn’t choose a DPM, but a skilful, reliable MD who specializes in orthopedic surgery.
He used an excellent technique (he was averse to minimally invasive surgery, and so I am). The rehab took one month: since then I haven’t had the least problem my foot, so I recommend surgery to all bunion sufferers (provided that then bunion really causes problems: it should be never operated on only for cosmetic reasons.
[quote]OGC wrote:
I have had a bunion on my right toe since I was about 16 years old. Here I am 12 years later feeling lower back pain on my right side of my body.
I went in to see several doctors and it turns out that my bunion is the root of all evil.
Because my bunion has pushed my toe inwards, the ligaments have ultimately made me flat footed on the right side. As a result, my ankle has lowered, causing my knee to lose stability and my lower back is taking the brunt end of the damage since it’s the only thing that’s relatively the way it should be.
Now, I can only train legs or run long distances if I’m wearing custom orthotics and I have my knee wrapped tightly to stabilize and keep the swelling out.
I have to get surgery to correct the bunion and then rehab everything else.
My balance is horrible on my right leg as well.
Anyone else gone through something similar and successfully rehabilitated out of it?[/quote]
Hello,
please visit my FB page on Bunion Surgery in Athletes. You could find helpful info. Thanks.
I had a very large bunion on my left foot, and I have experienced your same problems. The bunion was so large that I had to buy split-size shoes. Last year I underwent surgery (I’m 27 now). I didn’t choose a DPM, but a skilful, reliable MD who specializes in orthopedic surgery.
He used an excellent technique (he was averse to minimally invasive surgery, and so I am). The rehab took one month: since then I haven’t had the least problem my foot, so I recommend surgery to all bunion sufferers (provided that then bunion really causes problems: it should be never operated on only for cosmetic reasons.
[/quote]
Your post implies that DPM’s are not reliable or skilled. Also most DPMs have been averse to Minimally invasive surgery as related to bunions since the mid 80’s. I’m glad your surgery has worked out for you though. In my experience, MD’s and DPM’s are all quite capable.
OP I have seen many people with problems similar to yours. I have also seen many people have bunion surgery which caused many more problems. weigh your options carefully.
I got the surgery. My bunion caused torn ligaments at the joints near the ball of my foot. As a result, two of my toes are now fused. I fully rehabbed and am pain-free, although weighted lunges put too much strain on my foot. Good luck to you.