Bunion Treatment Results

What are the results of this bunion experiment?

I suppose that's the question most visitors of this website will be most interested in. Is my bunion treatment producing any satisfactory results?

I started this experiment in July 2007 and at the time of writing, it's January 2008. So half a year has passed already. Did my feet change for the better? Well, there's definitely some improvement, though I cannot say my bunions have disappeared alltogether.

The best way to see for yourself, is by comparing the bunion pictures I've taken during the course of this experiment. I've put them close to each other, so you should be able to see what the variety of bunion treatments I tried did for my feet so far.

I myself indeed think my feet do look and feel somewhat better. And I believe the biggest change has been brought about by the marigold treatment I started in November 2007. I've not finished the complete treatment yet, but the first stage did make my bunions a bit smaller.

The acupuncture treatment I started in October 2007 turned out to be beneficial to my feet as well. I've had about twelve treatments until now, and the major difference I've experienced, is that the numbness of the area around my bunions disappeared for a big part. This area had been numb for ages, so something definitely happened there! For the moment I discontinued the acupuncture treatment; I might have another 4 to 6 sessions in Spring 2008.

Another thing that has changed for the better since I started this bunion treatment combination, is that I've considerably less pain when walking long distances. I think this is partly thanks to the posture control insoles I've put in my shoes. I almost don't suffer from pain under the ball of my second toe anymore. This was the pain that kept me most from walking long distances.

What further made a difference, is that I don't wear bunion braces anymore in my shoes. I used to wear them to keep my toes in a straighter position. Although they indeed helped me to achieve this, I decided not to wear them anymore, simply because they take up too much space in my shoes. Now that I'm walking without them, my bunions are less irritated at the end of the day.

Finally, I found that the mobility of my big toes has improved a bit. I can move my toes somewhat more sideways now. The reason – I think – are my daily foot exercises. There's one simple foot exercise I try to do a couple of times a day. At the end of the day, it really makes a difference: my feet are much less tired. You cannot do this exercise everywhere, but I'll try to do it as often as I have the chance.

Here is how it works: take off your socks and put the fingers of your left hand between the toes of your right foot. Gently stretch and flex your foot. Repeat with your right hand in combination with your left foot. I find this exercise helps a lot to relax the muscles of my feet.

And for the rest – well, I just have to be patient I guess. Bunions don't develop over a couple of weeks, so I cannot really expect them to disappear in that period of time.