Bunions When Pregnant – Are They More Common and Why?  

We often have women presenting at our clinic either around or during their pregnancy in regard to a bunion either suddenly appearing or becoming more pronounced. Not to mention we often take a history of someone who has had bunions for quite some time (decades in some cases) and they often report that their bunion suddenly got worse around the time that they had their children. In this article we discuss why this happens as it is a lot more common than people realise.  

Why do women suddenly notice their bunions when they are pregnant?  

Just for the record pregnancy doesn’t directly cause bunions. However, obviously there are a whole range of changes that occur in a woman’s body during this time and the big one that effects feet is a huge surge in the hormone relaxin. This is a hormone that is released in preparation for childbirth, it relaxes the ligaments in the pelvis and softens and widens the cervix. This hormone has a huge effect on the connective tissues of the feet as well (connective tissues being the stuff that keeps your bones together.ie ligaments, synovial fluid etc). It actually allows the connective tissues to stretch and move more.  

The downside for this is that if you have any misalignment in your feet (which well over 85% of people do) you will be inclined for that misalignment to become worse and then you generally compensate often putting more stress through your big toe joint causing more wear and tear thus resulting in a bunion forming or in acceleration of bunion symptoms.  

What should you do if you are pregnant and think your bunion might be getting worse?  

The best thing would be to get your feet checked by a podiatrist who specialises in this area. Please keep in mind most podiatrists don’t do a lot of work with bunions and will probably suggest surgery. The upside if treated properly not only can you minimise further damage to the bunion area you can actually improve the condition and avoid the need for surgery long term.  

If you do get your feet checked, the podiatrist can come up with a plan to address why the bunion is forming and work on realigning your feet and strengthening the relevant areas. In fact, we find that when we treat people during pregnancy, or just after, people are highly receptive to treatments as their connective tissues are ready to respond. 

The way we do this is through a gentle hands-on technique that corrects the alignment of the connective tissues and we strengthen the relevant muscles to pull back the bunion into a better position, as well as strengthening the arch and the ankles. When treating a bunion, it is especially important to treat the whole foot so that you address the underlying cause of the bunion. 

Please be aware that when treating a bunion, the sooner the better. Conservative care always works best in that respect and thus gives you the greater likelihood of avoiding surgery. 

Our Bunion Treatment Process 

At Sydney Bunion Clinic, Foot Mobilisation Therapy is our speciality and we have successfully treated thousands of patients, helping them avoid bunion surgery. 

We offer an initial Bunion Assessment, where we run through a series of examination and evaluation to determine the cause and condition of your bunion and assess the best treatment options for bunion treatment. 

Your Bunion Assessment Includes: 

• Initial consultation 
• Biomechanical Examination 
• Gait Analysis 
• Foot Mobilisation Therapy Evaluation 
• Diagnosis and Explanation of the underlying cause of your bunion 
• A Personalised Treatment Plan 

To book your initial bunion assessment, or to find out more on our bunion treatment options contact us on 8966 9300. Ready to get started? Book an assessment online today! 

At Sydney Bunion Clinic up to 65% of our patient load is bunion treatments and we have specialised in this area for over 19 years. We now have a special offer on our ‘Bunion Assessment” just $35 (usually $100). Either click on the link above or give us a call on 89669300.  

Tags: Bunion Treatment Sydney

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