Ballet Dancing And How To Look After Bunions
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A bunion is a prominent metatarsophalangeal joint at the base of your big toe Bunions are more commonly known in the medical community as hallux valgus or hallux abducto valgus. Bunions are physical deformities associated with the bones on the foot. Bunions can lead to severe pain from conventional footwear and sore spots can develop due to constant friction. Bunions can range in severity from mild where the person hardly knows it is there, to severe, where even walking is impaired. As you can see, a bunion is not necessarily always a problem, unless the bunion rubs against your shoe and becomes inflamed. When this happens, the little sacs of fluid under the skin called bursa become inflamed and result in bursitis. Infections and blisters are other potential bunion complications.
The main cause of bunions is genetics, but they can also be caused by bad footwear and improper technique, or sometimes in ballet dancers starting pointe work too early or with ill fitting pointe shoes. Make sure that all your shoes fit properly, and the big toe joint should always line up straight with the metatarsal. When practising your ballet dancing, avoid winging your foot (this is sticking the big toe forward when pointing) or putting sideways pressure on your big toe. Also, when you close your feet to fifth position, avoid using to much forceful pressure on the floor. You can purchase soft toe spacers, which generally work well provided they are not too big or bulky. You could also learn from a physical therapist how to tape the big toe to enable it to stay properly aligned and supported.
If you have an inflamed bunion, put ice on it for ten minutes twice a day. Try using a night splint to align the big toe while you sleep. Use a thin padding during the day over the area to reduce irritation. When standing, whether flat, on demi-pointe or full pointe, make sure that your weight is distributed properly and that you are not putting undue pressure on the inner side of the foot and big toe.
The more drastic option available for severe bunion sufferers is podiatal surgery. Podiatal surgery will remove most of the bunion through a combination of growth and abnormality removal. The bones will then be realigned and this should typically straighten out the big toe. The podiatal surgery will eliminate the large bulge on the side of the foot and get rid of the common symptoms associated with bunions.
Prevention is definitely the best treatment for bunions, because once you have them, they don't go away.
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