Are Bunions and Arthritis Related? | Kansas Foot Center (2024)

FAQs

Are Bunions and Arthritis Related? | Kansas Foot Center? ›

Over time, people with RA often develop severe deformities in their feet and hands. These can look like severe bunions, with a large bump and even the big toe crossing over its smaller neighbor. RA can lead to claw toes, as well.

Metatarsalgia

Bunions can lead to excessive pressure transferred onto the ball of the foot, resulting in pain and inflammation, a condition called metatarsalgia.

Bunions might be associated with certain types of arthritis, particularly inflammatory types, such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Early signs of bunions

Pain or tenderness in your big toe or foot. Swelling or redness around your big toe joint. Red, irritated or warm-to-the-touch skin around your big toe joint. Stiffness or limited range of motion in your big toe or foot.

Flat feet with increased flexibility and abnormal mechanics are most likely to form bunions. Tight shoe gear and high heels can increase the deformity and pain. Other causes of bunions include osteoarthritis, gout, rheumatoid arthritis, trauma, and neurovascular disease.

# 2 Bunions can lead to other foot issues

This is because the deformity of the bunion causes abnormal pressure on different areas of the foot when walking or standing. Over time, this can lead to changes in the shape of the foot and pain in other areas.

A likely explanation for the pain and discomfort experienced by patients with bunions is entrapment neuropathy.

Elliott Perel sees many patients who've developed bunions, not just from stress, but also from other causes, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

You could even think of a bunion as a very specific type of arthritis that only affects a certain joint in a certain way. However, when we think of arthritis in the feet, bunions aren't typically what we're talking about. This is even true when symptoms and appearance can be very similar between the two.

What is the difference between bunion pain and arthritis? ›

The main difference between arthritis and bunions is that arthritis can affect joints throughout the body. Bunions, on the other hand, are specific to the joints along the big and small toes.

Prolonged swelling, infection, and deep vein thrombosis can result from this treatment. Some of the other possible complications include over- or under-correction, loss of correction, joint stiffness, and nerve entrapment.

A fluid-filled sac, called a bursa, cushions the bone near the joint on your big toe. When that joint gets bigger because of a bunion, the bursa can get swollen and painful -- that's called bursitis. This can make it hurt even more and may damage the smooth tissue that covers the joint, called cartilage.

Heel Height: Excessively high heels can make bunions worse. They put the body's weight more forward, which causes more pressure on and around the bunion area. To avoid pain, Dr. Daughtry suggests heels no higher than two inches.

So to answer this question, Yes a person with bunions were more likely to experience pain in their whole foot but also in other parts of their body, including the hip, knee and even lower back.

Bunions can cause pain and discomfort in the affected foot. The pain is often felt around the bunion area and can be sharp or dull. You may experience pain while standing, walking, or running. The pain can be exacerbated by wearing tight shoes that put pressure on the bunion.

Bunions are a lump on the outside of the big toe. They only need treatment if they cause discomfort. Wearing well-fitting shoes can prevent a bunion from getting worse. If the bunion makes it hard for you to walk or is very painful, you may be able to get surgery to realign the joint.

Gout may be mistaken for a bunion because one of the most noticeable gout symptoms is a red, painful swelling around the big toe joint. However, unlike bunions, which form over a long period and gradually produce pain, gout often generates sudden and sharp pains.