Bunions Specialist
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Podiatry Healthcare Associates
Maurice Betesh, DPM
Foot & Ankle Specialist located in Midwood, Clinton Hills, & Marine Park, Brooklyn, NY
Bunions are bony lumps that form on your foot, on the joint at the base of your big toe. They’re not always painful, but they can be and will get progressively worse if you don’t seek help for them when they first begin to hurt. Maurice Betesh, DPM, at Podiatry Healthcare Associates, offers comprehensive foot care in Midwood, Clinton Hills, and Marine Park, Brooklyn. If you have a bunion that is causing pain or want to avoid pain in the future, book your consultation today online or over the phone at any of the New York City locations.
Bunions Q & A
What signs point to having a bunion?
You might not notice you have a bunion until it’s big enough to be apparent. Keep an eye on your feet for the following early signs that a bunion may be forming.
- A bulge at the base of your big toe
- Pain in your big toe that comes and goes
- Your big toe joint looks red and swollen
- The base of your big toe is sore to touch
If, however, the pain becomes constant, the bulge becomes visibly larger to the point where shoes no longer fit, or you can’t move your big toe, you should schedule a consultation with Dr. Betesh at Podiatry Healthcare Associates to take a closer look.
How do bunions form?
Bunions can be both hereditary and caused by an external factor. Common reasons bunions form include:
- Arthritis
- The natural shape of your feet
- Wearing too high heels
- Wearing ill-fitting shoes
While you may not be able to prevent bunions from forming as a result of genetics or medical conditions, you can prevent your shoes from being the issue. High heels and ill-fitting shoes unnaturally push the bones in your foot out of place, causing that tell-tale bulge.
Dr. Betesh has extensive training in podiatric care. If you’re not sure what caused your bunion, he can advise on why it occurred and how you can prevent it from getting worse.
How do you treat a bunion?
There are many conservative, non-surgical ways to treat bunions. You can purchase wider shoes with room for your feet to spread out, special padding that sits between your foot and your shoe, or custom orthotics from Podiatry Healthcare Associates. Pain relief medication and applying ice to the bunion both help ease the pain but won’t fix the problem in the long run.
You can also have surgery to remove a bunion if it has gone past the point of non-surgical relief. There are several ways Dr. Betesh can remove a bunion, including:
- Removing bone from your big toe and straightening the joint
- Removing swollen tissue from your big toe
- Realigning one or more bones back to a more normal position
Dr. Betesh specializes in custom orthotics and can provide you with knowledgeable advice on how to make smart choices when picking shoes, as well as when surgery is the best course of action to treat your bunion.
For expert diagnosis and bunion treatment, call Podiatry Healthcare Associates today or schedule your consultation online.
