5 Bunion Exercises for Prevention & Pain Relief

Those afflicted with bunions will know the daily pain and discomfort that is associated with them. The sore red bumps just don’t go away, at least not without surgery, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t measures you can take to reduce some of the struggles. Because bunions are caused by years of pressure on your toe joints, you may want to try a variety of different bunion exercises that can add flexibility and motion to your toes. Due to genetics or inflammatory diseases, these aren’t a foolproof method to stop bunions from forming nor are they going to reduce your bunion that has already formed. But if you want to try to reduce your pain or prevent a bunion from forming in the first place, these can help:

Spread the Toes

The first exercise is an easy but effective one. While standing, sitting, or lying down, simply raise your toes up towards the sky and spread them apart as far as you are able, as though you have dividers between them for drying your toenails after a pedicure. Hold this for a few seconds, drop your toes, and do so again. Repeat this for a minute or so, then switch feet. This bunion exercise will stretch the muscles in your feet and toes and offer a satisfying sense of relief.

Heel Raises

While standing, lift your heel off of the floor and raise yourself onto the ball of your feet as high as you can go. Let your heel fall back to the floor slowly, then quickly raise yourself up again. Continue to do this for one minute, take a break, and do it again for an additional thirty seconds. Implement a number of holds and pauses while you do the raises, as well as increasing and decreasing speeds periodically. Not only is this one of many great bunion exercises, but it’s a good exercise in general, as it works the calf muscles tremendously.

Toe Rotations 

Doing toe rotations will work the joints and decrease the level of stiffness in them. Start by moving your big toe in a circular motion for thirty seconds, then switching directions for another thirty seconds. After a minute has passed, swap toes and do the same. Repeat the process three times for each toe. Alternatively, if you have difficulty rotating your toe you can grasp your toe and rotate it manually to get all the motions. This is one of the best bunion exercises you can do, and there are a few ways to add some variety to it as well, such as changing the path of the rotation to instead do a figure eight, or even writing out the alphabet in the air.

Toe Curls

Get ready to flex those toe muscles! By curling your toes slowly and flexing the muscles associated with them, you will quickly notice that your toes are getting a range of motion that they do not normally engage with. For an added range of motion, stretch them upwards after uncurling them. Do this for about a minute, pause, and go again until you have completed three repetitions.

Bunion Exercises That Use Equipment

There are some light pieces of equipment that you can implement into your bunion exercises to do stretches and motions that you wouldn’t be able to do otherwise. You can train the grip strength in your toes by picking up marbles with your toes and placing them in a small bowl. Another way to do this is by using a weak resistance band for added difficulty. Try placing your foot on top of a small ball, such as a golf or tennis ball, and rolling it along the ground while adding pressure to rub some of the tension out of your foot.  

Want to Eliminate Bunion Pain?

These exercises can help to prevent or relieve bunion pain in a number of ways, but there is only one way to permanently eliminate it. Through minimally invasive surgery, like that performed at Northwest Surgery Center, you can have your bunion taken care of with little to no pain. You’ll be back on your feet in no time at all, and what’s better is you won’t need to worry about performing these exercises any longer because the discomfort will be entirely gone.

Are you interested in taking care of your bunions? If so, we can help out. Contact Northwest Surgery Center today or call our toll-free number at 800-873-1060 to learn more.