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Bunions - Overview

Alternative Names

Hallux valgus

Definition of Bunions:

A bunion is when your big toe points toward the second toe. This causes a bump on the edge of your foot, at the joint of your big toe.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Bunions occur more commonly in women and sometimes run in families. People born with abnormal bones in their feet are more likely to form a bunion. Wearing narrow-toed, high-heeled shoes may lead to a bunion. The condition may become painful as extra bone and a fluid-filled sac grow at the base of the big toe.

Bunion removal - series

Reviewed last on: 6/18/2008
A.D.A.M. Editorial Team: David Zieve, MD, MHA, Greg Juhn, MTPW, David R. Eltz. Andrew L. Chen, MD, MS, Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, The Alpine Clinic, Littleton, NH. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network (5/5/2008).

References

Vanore JV. Diagnosis and treatment of first metatarsophalangeal joint disorders. Section 1: Hallux valgus. J Foot Ankle Surg. 2003; 42(3): 112-123.

King DM. Associated deformities and hypermobility in hallux valgus: an investigation with weightbearing radiographs. Foot Ankle Int. 2004; 25(4): 251-255.

Ferrari J, Higgins JP, Prior TD. Interventions for treating hallux valgus (abductovalgus) and bunions. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2004.