The Bunion Blog – Category ‘Bunion Treatments’
EFT
February 15th, 2008
The other day Anke Szillat mentioned EFT to me (thanks, Anke!). EFT? I had never heard about it before but soon found out that these three letters stand for 'Emotional Freedom Techniques' and that it is a technique that can be applied to all sorts of ailments.
Can EFT be used to cure bunions as well? Though the EFT website presents a lot of case studies in which EFT was succesfully used, I couldn't find a case study involving bunions (yet). The technique however has been applied with succes to people suffering from such a wide variety of conditions, that I think it would be interesting to try it on bunions as well.
Read more about EFT on this special web page I dedicated to the subject.
Marigold side effects
February 8th, 2008
For a couple of weeks now, I'm at stage II of the marigold treatment, which means I'm applying marigold tincture and oil to my bunions and the rest of my feet once or twice a day. That way, I'm hoping to maintain the improvement my feet have achieved thanks to the treatment.
By rubbing my feet with marigold oil yesterday, all of a sudden I noticed that the skin of my feet was changing. My feet have always been quite callous as a result of too much pressure on certain parts. Of course I'm always trying to keep things under control, having a pedicure once every two months and making sure I take good care of my feet myself, but still...
Now it seems like my feet are gradually softening and 'throwing of' their callosities. Nice surprise! I had a look at the marigold brochures I had received together with my home treatment, and indeed, there I found that marigold could also be beneficial in the treatment of callosities, corns, and even fungal infections. Looks like we have a cure-all for foot problems here :)
Marigold Bunion Therapy
January 3rd, 2008
A happy and healthy 2008 to all of you! This year, I hope to continue my bunion experiment and write about anything I come across that looks interesting or promising for the treatment of bunions and hallux valgus.
Like the marigold therapy for instance. I had heard about this therapy before, but didn't want to write about it before I could tell you a bit more about it. In the meantime I've finished stage I of the treatment and am now at stage II (which takes a couple of months to complete).
Last week I added a page about the marigold therapy to the site. Here you can read my observations about this bunion treatment. As always, feel free to post your comments by clicking on the link below.
Energy healing
December 7th, 2007
I have to tell you about a book I'm currently reading. It's called Quantum Touch by Richard Gordon, and it's all about a way to heal with your hands. The author claims it's a technique that's very easy to learn and that everybody has this power within him or her. Fascinating!
The main principle behind the technique is the fact that two objects have the tendency to resonate with each other when they're close to each other. The author says for example that when a G is played on a piano, the G string on a guitar starts to vibrate too.
The same can happen in humans. When the vibration of one person (the practitioner) is raised and he places his hands on someone who is not well, this second person's vibration will raise too and thus helps to heal his or her body. In fact, the body is healing itself, stimulated by this higher vibration. Even bones can be readjusted by applying Quantum Touch – the book shows some pictures of people whose hips and legs are corrected by using this technique.
And if hips and legs can be corrected this way, why wouldn't it be possible to adjust misaligned toe joints? I'm not giving it a try right away, because I'm in the middle of another therapy, but it sure is something to keep in mind, don't you think?
Bunion Phytotherapy
November 17th, 2007
Do you know what phytotherapy is? According to the Crystal Reference Encyclopedia phytotherapy – or herbalism – is the use of herbs to prevent and cure illness.
A lot of people are aware of the fact that certain plants, like tea tree and aloe vera for example, can be used to treat skin diseases. And that garlic helps to lower your blood pressure. But are there plants that can be helpful in treating bunions I wondered?
Yes, there are indeed. Especially when you suffer from bunion pain, you might want to have a look into these natural pain killers and anti-inflammatory agents.
Numbness Disappearing
October 26th, 2007
I've had four acupuncture sessions by now, and I noticed a slight improvement this week! No, not in my bunions yet – they still seem to be the same size more or less. And neither in the alignment of my big toes – they're still leaning towards my second toes. But I did get back some feeling into my big toes!
Certain parts of my big toes have been numb for ages: especially the upper/outer sides. I almost cannot remember how it felt like to have something brush against the side of your toes. So it was kind of funny to experience this feeling again. I know, it's just a slight improvement, but for me it proves that something's changing for the better!
An Unconventional Bunion Treatment
October 11th, 2007
Are you ready to try a really unconventional bunion treatment? As for me, I'm willing to try almost everything, including a treatment Dewey from New Orleans developed. He claims it helped him to get rid of his bunions. And when it worked for him, why shouldn't it work for others as well?
Because Dewey has no proof that his treatment works for people other than himself, he's looking for people that are willing to give his bunion therapy a try. All you have to do is give him a call, and he'll send the first ten people the device he developed to attack your bunions for free, as well instructions on how to use it.
So why don't you join me, and give this most uncommon bunion treatment a fair try!
My First Acupuncture Treatment
October 5th, 2007
Yesterday, I had my first acupuncture treatment. I was curious to know what the acupuncturist's opinion would be about treating bunions this way and of course I was a bit nervous about the treatment itself.
Well, I shouldn't have been. I was warned that inserting the needles could hurt a bit, but fortunately it didn't. Each time a needle was inserted I had to breathe in and I really didn't feel more that just a faint tingle most of the time.
At one point though a needle was inserted that sent a strong 'electrical current' towards the top of my left toe. That one needle did hurt, and my acupuncturist immediately removed it and inserted it slightly to the side, telling me she'd try again the following week.
After I had lain down for about 20-30 minutes with needles all over my feet, they were taken out again. How did I feel? Well, a bit shaky to be honest, with sweaty palms, and once I was home again, I realized I felt very tired. As if I had worked for a long, long time and finally got a rest. I have no idea if this is normal – it's just the way I reacted to this treatment.
Of course I asked my acupuncturist what she thought of acupuncture as a bunion treatment. (I had hoped she could tell me that she had successfully treated people with bunions before!) But no, she hadn't – though she had previously treated people for the pain their bunions caused them. So I'll have to find out for myself if this works!
Bunion Night Splint, Toe Separator or Exercises for Bunions?
September 22nd, 2007
This week, I came across an interesting research. It was carried out in 2002 at the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation of Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey. The results were published in a Turkish journal, the Journal of Arthroplasty & Arthrosopic Surgery. Fortunately it contained an abstract in English, otherwise I wouldn't be able to tell you about it!
The goal of the study was to find out which of the following bunion treatments was the most effective in reducing pain and a flexible hallux valgus deformity: bunion night splints, a toe separator, or mobilisation exercises? (Actually, 'hallux valgus' is not the same as a bunion, though they often come together; 'hallux valgus' refers to the condition that your big toe is leaning towards your second toe.)
To get an answer to this question, forty-five people with hallux valgus were randomly divided over three groups. The first group received a toe separator, the second a bunion splint to be worn at night and the third group had to do mobilisation exercises.
Prior to these bunion treatments, as well as after three months, patients were assessed for pain and the clinical manifestation of their hallux valgus deformity. The results? I quote from the journal:
"Statictical analysis of the data revealed
that while a hallux separator was ineffective in
reducing pain and deformity, a hallux valgus night
splint did not effect the deformity but could
alleviate pain. Mobilisation exercises were effective
in decreasing pain and in correcting a flexible
deformity to some extent." (Source)
This definitely helps me to keep motivated and continue my daily exercise routine!