[Guest]

I'm 39 and was fitted for orthotics to treat fallen arches (to be worn in shoes that would accommodate their bulkiness) almost 10 years ago. Less than a year ago, I started to experience occasional discomfort from bunions the deformity of which had seemed barely noticeable until then. (In fact, I'd reverted to wearing dress shoes more frequently, thinking adequate width was all I needed and not realizing what a heel and lack of support were doing to my feet.) I feel I did some serious damage trekking around in un-sensible shoes at a conference weekend in November, as I had a lot of pain in the center of my foot at the time; the pain overall has been much more marked since then. I finally went to a podiatrist in January, and was fitted with new, slimmer orthotics; I promptly stopped wearing anything but shoes that would accommodate these, or Birkenstocks, except on the occasions when I had to dress for performances (I'm a concert pianist.) I seem to have pain a lot of the time now regardless of what shoes I wear, and the turning of the big toes is more pronounced. My feet often tingle or ache. Are there any therapeutic treatments (physio, night braces) that I could make part of my daily routine that would alleviate the discomfort and slow what seems to be a much accelerated deterioration? Are there brands of shoes that you would particularly recommend? I feel as though I'm too young to be this deformed!

[Guest]

You should try to wear sneakers as much as possible and always wear your orthoitcs. You have arthritis due to your bunions and this can be very painful. However, it is normally a gradual progression of pain. The fact that you had it occur so quickly due to one weekend of extreme walking leads me 6to believe you may also have a capsulitis which is inflammatin of the joint capsule. You may benefit form a cortisone injection into the area. However, you may want to consider surgery to fox your bunion before the arthritis becomes so bad that the jopint is completely destroyed.
[quote] I'm 39 and was fitted for orthotics to treat fallen arches (to be worn in shoes that would accommodate their bulkiness) almost 10 years ago. Less than a year ago, I started to experience occasional discomfort from bunions, the deformity of which had seemed barely noticeable until then... [/quote]