by Dustin L. Kruse, DPM
"Hi, this is Dr. Dustin Kruse, from Rocky Mountain Foot and Ankle Center. Today we’re going to talk about bunion deformities. Bunions are one of the most common complaints that people present to our office with. Bunions oftentimes are associated with being old or aging, when in reality they can affect patients of all ages. I’ve seen patients as young as infants to as old as 90 years old coming in complaining of a new, painful bunion. And the key is the pain. Patients oftentimes will come into the office saying that they don’t like the way their bunion looks, when in reality we don’t care about the way it looks. The problem is when it starts to bother you.
I often tell patients that we can deal with a bunion and treat it conservatively for several years, up until the point where the bunion starts to limit what you’re able to do and what you want to do. There are several conservative options for treating bunions, which include orthotics, paddings, toe splits, and just wearing wider shoes. Unfortunately once you do develop a bunion, there’s no way to get rid of this except for surgical intervention, once it becomes painful. If your bunion is bothering you and it’s stopping what you want to do, there are a host of surgical interventions that can be performed based on the severity of the bunion as well as the apex of the deformity. If your bunion is bothering you and you can’t do what you want to do anymore, go ahead and make an appointment and we can see what we can do for you, whether it be conservative or surgical intervention. If you have any questions, feel free to call us and we would love to see you in our office. Thank you!"