Dear LPG, 

According to the internet, over a third of us over 65-year-olds are likely to have feet developing bunions, and the worst part is that we are letting it happen.  Many of us accept that it goes with the territory of getting old and might have the makings of one without even knowing it.   

It happens to women more than men and often has a lot to do with all those flattering, high-heeled, slim-toed shoes that so many of us have forced our feet into over the years.   I have to say that I am guilty, although I have seen feet that are a lot worse than mine. 

I have a friend who has been under the knife to correct hers and watching her go through that experience has got me looking at my feet a bit more closely.  I looked at what the internet has to say about them not so long ago, and I came across a few facts that every bunion sufferer might benefit from.

The first thing I learned is that they start small and can take years to get to a stage where they hurt and affect the way you walk, and there is quite a bit you can do before that happens if you get started on time. 

We, cruel ladies, are more affected because so many of our shoes have spent years pushing our toes, especially the ones at either end of our feet, inwards which causes some of the bones to get bigger and change their direction, and I only know this because I saw it online.  From what I have seen, once they start to form, you can do nothing to make them go away, but there is a lot you can do to stop them from getting worse.  

The best thing is that we older ladies tend to find wearing those kittens heals something we don’t need to do any more, but even if you have taken to wearing more comfortable shoes or trainers by now, it is essential to make sure that you choose ones with enough space for your toes to spread in.  I have also learnt that the owners of affected feet find it much more difficult to spread their toes out properly.  Spreading your toes out is one of many exercises that might help to slow down the worsening of any potential bunions that might be forming, and there are more and more toe spreaders on the market which can help too.  

I am no expert, but there is a lot of information on the internet which might be worth trying out, including a test that might help any person to work out if they have the makings of a bunion problem in the first place and, having found some of it, I have asked LPG to share it with my fellow readers… 

 AH, Ladywell. 

AH shares what she has found…

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