Bunion pain all of a sudden...

Janesfoot

If you weren't half my age I would say you may have the same thing I was diagnosed with this summer....arthritis! I had double bunion surgery on the right foot May 2008. I'll need surgery on the left foot eventually but it was in much better shape. I attend Zumba classes, and my left big toe began to hurt after class, but then feel much better the next day. Then the pain began to be more aggressive. After class my foot was so painful that using the clutch while driving home made me yelp in pain. I yanked my sneaker off when I arrived home to find my foot swollen on top of the joint at the base of the big toe.
I went to my POD who took x-rays and confirmed it was arthritis in the joint.
He said I was jamming the toe because the arthritis did not let the toe flex like it should. Long story short, get your toe checked out. Osteoarthritis commonly occurs in weight-baring joints, hips, knees, and feet. I have read that it can afflict athletes. Hopefully you are suffering from a temporary annoyance but if it continues, it may be good to know the source of the problem.

cj1986

Thanks for responding! When I was first diagnosed with the bunion (I had originally thought all peoples' feet looked like that, haha) they radiologist did note signs of arthritis in the big toe joints, and that was 5 years ago... so I guess its possible it has progressed.

Just out of curiousity... have you noticed any problems with the zumba class? I work in a fitness setting and have heard about a lot of knee injuries (mostly due to the fact that people are wearing gym shoes instead of dance shoes, so they tend to stick more)?

Northwind

Janesfoot, your story is similar to mine, though I did not have bunion surgery. I thought I was growing a bunion as per the family tradition. The first podiatrist I saw knew my mother and grandmother and said we all have the same feet......just different generations. In Aug 08 I walked a couple of blocks to get coffee wearing sandals that apparently were totally unsuitable for my foot. That night I was awakened with a sharp jab in that joint that felt like someone was jamming an ice pick in it. Turns out I had arthritis. I spent a lot of money on footwear last year and got new orthotics. Nothing helped enough. I had surgery to fuse that joint on Oct 28th this year and so far so good.

I have learned that a bump on the top of the joint is arthritis, on the side is a bunion. My left foot has a bunion. Walking and the orthotic help. My right foot was arthritis. Walking and movement made it worse. Orthotics didn't really help it.

I agree that you should get your foot checked out. Better safe than sorry.

__________________

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Life is too short to wear tight shoes. ~ May you have happy feet in 2017/18.

Janesfoot

Regarding Zumba, I haven't had any knee problems, but I do need to be careful not to flex my bad foot too much. I've also had hip pain, but we shake our hips a lot. The Zumba helped me stretch my post-operative foot, and regain flexibility. I was in class 6 months after surgery and probably could have gone sooner. Regarding the arthritis, I too was told a bump on top of the joint was indicative of arthritis. Since that is the foot that still needs bunion surgery, I may be looking at a fusion or some other more complicated surgery when the time comes. The good news was my POD said that activity would not make the arthritis worsen. That was my major concern since I want to wait a few more years before I have the second surgery. Now that I know to be more careful, I haven't had another episode of swelling and major pain. The bad news is that any shoe or boot with a bit of a heel is painful to wear.