Hallux valgus is a rather common deformity of the foot.a common disease that is diagnosed in a significant part of the working population (according to various sources, from 17 to 60 percent of adults suffer from the disease to one degree or another). The forefoot is flattened, the toes are deformed. The person suffers from severe pain, which prevents them from wearing regular shoes and causes pain when walking. If the disease is not treated, it progresses and can lead to complete disability.
Causes of foot deformation
Why do feet become deformed?There are several reasons for this disease. Sometimes it is caused by genetic predisposition: a person has weak bone and connective tissues from birth. As a result, so-called transverse flatfoot occurs, which very often affects women who wear high-heeled shoes with a narrow toe. In this case, the main load falls on the front part of the foot, eventually leading to its deformation and arthrosis of the big toe. Hormonal changes, which are inevitable during puberty, menopause, and pregnancy, have a negative effect on the ligaments. Accordingly, women suffer from this disease much more often.
Prevention and treatment
It was not us who said that the disease is easierprevent, than treat. This fully applies to hallux valgus. It is very important to wear properly selected shoes. This means, first of all, no heels that are too high (they should be no higher than 7 cm), tapered toes. In addition, shoes, boots, boots should be made only of natural materials (leather, suede). Those who have to spend a lot of time on their feet should be especially careful when choosing the right shoes. In this situation, it is imperative to give your feet a rest. When symptoms begin, you should contact a specialist who will conduct an examination and give the necessary recommendations, select orthopedic insoles. In this way, you can stop the development of the disease. When treating foot deformity, it is necessary to take into account how far the disease has progressed. It is clear that the sooner you start treatment, the better the result will be. If medical care is provided at the earliest stage, it is quite possible to slow down its development. Special orthopedic shoes significantly reduce pain and help reduce foot deformity. In case of significant curvature, conservative treatment can only relieve pain in the affected joint. Anti-inflammatory drugs are usually prescribed, as well as physiotherapy procedures. In case of severe pain, steroid drugs, which are applied locally, help well. Of course, all this is done exclusively as prescribed and under the supervision of a doctor. In advanced cases, there is only one way out - surgery. Before this, a thorough examination is carried out, including X-ray (in three projections). Osteotomy is a rather complicated operation, which consists of reconstructing several bones of the foot. It is aimed at bringing the deformed joints back to normal. It must be said that there are many different methods of surgical correction of foot deformity, some of which doctors themselves call barbaric. After such an intervention, firstly, a very long recovery period follows, and secondly, there may be adverse effects. Therefore, if you decide on surgery, choose a proven clinic whose doctors are proficient in modern methods. If the operation is performed correctly, a person can literally lead a normal life and return to work within a week or two. And the most important advantage is the virtually zero chance of relapse. We recommend reading:
