Bunions are an enlargement of the big toe joint of the foot and are frequently related to what is called hallux valgus which is a deviation of the big toe or hallux towards the outside. They may or may not be painful, however the long term risk of them to be painful is great. For that reason prevention and treatment is typically justified. They certainly tend to be progressive and become worse over time. The only real method of getting rid of bunions is with surgery, but that is not always a good alternative initially. One of many ways that they could be treated is with what is called bunion correctors, but they are frequently coupled with the question, will they work? They are splints or braces used during the night to attempt to improve the deviation of big toe to better its appearance.

 

A great deal is determined by what is understood by the word or question, “working”. There is a lot of thoughts and opinions as to them both working and not working with minimal scientific evidence. There’s one published study that did reveal that the angle of the hallux will be improved by a few degrees after one months use, however this wasn’t research of any longer than that one month. So, yes, it does seem that bunion correctors can work in the short term at improving the angle of the hallux valgus or bunion a few degrees.

 

Aside from that study just about all we can rely on is expert opinion. Most of that opinion is in keeping with that scientific study. However, it also appears that even if the use of the bunion corrector does not help the angle of the big toe or only improves it a small amount, it can be entirely possible that the corrector could go quite a distance to preventing the condition from becoming worse. That’s significant as bunions are progressive. The splint may also be beneficial at mobilizing the ligaments around the joint and that can be useful with pain within the bunion.