Exercises for bunions on the big toe: gymnastics

Why gymnastics is useful for hallux valgus deformity

Most may not believe in the effectiveness of this method and do nothing, which will only lead to increased deformation and accompanying symptoms.

A bunion on the foot appears due to weakness of the ligamentous-tendon apparatus. It is the head of the first metatarsal bone, which deviates inward.

Daily exercise will lead to the following results:

the tone of the calf muscles and feet will increase;
the main phalanx of the thumb will take a physiological position;
discomfort when walking will decrease;
The size of the protruding bone will decrease.

A set of exercises for foot deformities will allow you to restore the limb to its former appearance only if performed responsibly every day.

Exercises may be ineffective in later stages of development of the deformity, but in the postoperative period they will help to fully restore the mobility of the operated foot.

Exercises that are interesting and even fun to do

Gymnastics for hallux valgus will not be a burden if the classes are structured in a playful way; in this endeavor, adults are like children. Performing the “Writing with your foot” exercise will initially be very difficult in terms of coordination, but it is similar to a game and is captivating, and the active muscle work that occurs is not noticeable.

We write with our feet

Insert a pencil or felt-tip pen between the first and second toes; you can try to do this without using your hands, taking a pencil from the floor. If you can't hold a pencil, take a marker; it will be easier to grasp and hold with untrained fingers. Now throw a sheet of paper on the floor and write numbers from 1 to 10 on it and put dots, it’s most pleasant to dot them because they’re easier. During the exercise, you stand and maintain balance on one leg, holding the paper with your fingers, while writing with the other leg. Do the same for each leg.

Bottle rolling

The exercise can be performed while sitting in front of the TV. Take a plastic weight bottle filled with water and roll it for several minutes, first with one foot, then with the other. Instead of a bottle, you can use a rolling pin, a children's ball, a tennis ball, or a ball.

Perform the exercises you choose daily, otherwise the effect will be zero.

Rules for performing exercises

Hallux valgus deformity

Yoga for treating bunions

Exercise therapy for children with hallux valgus

To completely get rid of a lump on the big toe or prevent its growth with the help of therapeutic exercises, you must adhere to certain rules. They will improve the patient’s discipline and speed up the recovery process.

It is recommended to follow the following rules:

Avoid uncomfortable shoes - during the treatment period, you must stop wearing tight, high-heeled shoes. You need to purchase special orthopedic shoes to make your feet comfortable.
Perform exercises daily - if you take too long breaks between training days, the effect of treatment will be zero. To quickly restore the foot, you need to perform the entire set of exercises daily, twice a day, before and after sleep.
Too light and heavy exercises - gymnastics for hallux valgus should not be too light, but in turn you need to be careful and not overdo it with loads, so as not to aggravate the situation.
Increase the number of approaches - over time, the muscles get used to certain loads; to avoid this, it is necessary to gradually increase the number of repetitions of the exercise.
Combine - for the best effect, it is recommended to smear the bone with a warming ointment or cream before classes. After classes, you can take baths with herbal decoctions or with the addition of salt. Such procedures will help relieve possible pain after exercise, as well as strengthen stretched ligaments and tendons.

While relaxing, you can walk barefoot on pebbles or grass. If this is not possible, there are special grooved cylinders or balls that can be rolled out.

Secrets of massage techniques for valgus

Massage for foot valgus is an integral part of the therapeutic complex. The course lasts 2 weeks. The frequency of therapy is determined taking into account the severity of the condition for each patient separately. The procedures contribute to:

muscle relaxation;
stretching and strengthening ligaments;
improving blood circulation.

To correct the situation, it is useless to work only with the feet. Their deformation also affects the spine. Doctors recommend starting treatment for hallux valgus with a back massage (above the lumbosacral region). A very good result is achieved with stage I hallux valgus. For varicose veins of the lower extremities, massage is contraindicated.

Usually the doctor prescribes a technique typical for a given diagnosis. It is also the most effective. The order of the procedure is as follows:

First you should warm up your back. They stroke it and then lightly rub it with their fingertips. The spine cannot be touched.
Then they move on to affecting the muscles. They should be warmed up and kneaded. For this, a comb-like technique is used.
Let's move on to the lumbosacral region. The same technique is used here as on the back, but the movements are more energetic and directed from the center to the sides and down.
In the gluteal area, patting alternates with circular stroking. The direction of movement coincides with the course of the lymph flow and goes from the popliteal cavities upward and to the sides.
They work over the shins using forceps-like movements in the direction from the Achilles tendon to the popliteal fossa.
The foot is massaged starting from the toes. Its inner part is intensively stroked. Then there are lateral movements. With their help, they form a physiologically correct arch.

The massage therapist must work with warm hands. Stretching and vibration may be used on the outside of the legs. On internal surfaces you should work more intensively: use both hands, introduce striking techniques. The kneecaps are handled carefully: strong or sudden impacts are unacceptable. After treating each area, it is soothed by stroking.

Technique for performing gymnastics from the bunion

Before performing gymnastics, it is recommended to fully warm up, massage your feet, and apply warming ointment to them. These exercises are not difficult to perform, which allows you to perform them while watching a movie or working at the computer.

The following exercises for the big toe joint are the most effective:

Picking up small things using your thumb. This may not be easy on your first attempts, so it is recommended to scatter soft and easily squeezable things. These can be lumps of paper, small pillows, soft balls, toys. You can gradually complicate the task by collecting smaller and slippery objects.
Exercise “bicycle” - a modification of this exercise will strengthen the calf and metatarsal muscles. In this case, you need to alternately straighten your feet and pull your toes forward. The required position is lying or sitting on the floor with straightened legs.
In a lying position, the sore leg is raised and all the letters of the alphabet, numbers or other characters are written in the air with an outstretched thumb.
A more advanced version of the previous exercise involves writing letters with a pencil or pen held by your big toe. At first it may not work out, then you can draw simple geometric shapes. In the future, it is recommended to complicate your task by drawing counterclockwise, or writing letters in reverse order.
Walking on your toes, heels and the outside of your feet. To begin with, it is recommended to walk on a soft surface so as not to cause discomfort, then you can step on a hard floor or pebbles, if you can visit the beach. First you need to rise on your toes, straighten your back, raise and pull your arms up. Stand in this position for about 10 seconds, then start walking. After toes, walk on your heels, arms should be at your sides, and your back should be straight. The last stage is walking on the outer side of the foot. You should not try to stand on the inside of your foot, as this may complicate the course of the disease.
In a sitting position, with your legs and back straight, you need to spread your toes in different directions. At the peak of extension, you need to fix your fingers and hold for about a minute. If this is easy, the time can increase to 3-5 minutes.
Gymnastics for the bunion on the big toe with an elastic band will help train the intertarsal, adductor and flexor muscles. To do this, you need a strong and elastic elastic band; we hook one edge of it onto the thumb, and hold the other in our hands. Then you need to bend and straighten your finger. You can also take a rubber ring and hook it onto the big toes of both feet. After that, in a sitting position with straightened legs, try to spread your feet in different directions, while your heels should be motionless.
Standing barefoot on the floor, with your big toes and heels touching, rise onto your toes. You need to stand in this position for up to 30-40 seconds. Then stand on the entire surface of the foot, spreading your legs. In this case, the fingers should move apart, you need to fixate in this position for a minute, then repeat everything again.

Arthrosis of the big toe - hallux-valgus, deformity of the big toe

Arthrosis of the big toe, colloquially called gout, actually has nothing in common with gout. Although true gout does often affect the big toe, it is much less common than arthrosis.

Moreover, while gout affects mostly men, arthrosis of the big toe develops most often in women. You can read more about classic gout here *

Many people mistakenly assume that arthrosis and deformity of the big toe occur due to poor nutrition or due to mythical salt deposits. But that's not true.

In fact, arthrosis of the thumb sometimes develops after a fracture, a severe bruise, or after a subluxation that occurs during an awkward movement of the foot (after a person stumbles or steps on, say, a stone).

But the most common cause of arthrosis and accompanying arthrosis deformation of the big toe is the special structure of the foot (“wide foot”), coupled with flat feet and prolonged wearing of fashionable shoes with a narrow toe or shoes that are too tight.

Women in our country often had to wear such shoes (partly because of fashion, partly due to lack of choice) in times of total shortage. Perhaps it is precisely this circumstance that has led to the widespread spread of thumb pathology among our middle-aged and elderly women.

As a result of the pressure of tight shoes on the big toe, it eventually deviates strongly inward and is pressed against the second toe. The bone that protrudes due to deviation of the toe receives additional traumatization (rubbed by shoes) while walking and gradually becomes deformed.

Later, not only the protruding bone, but also the entire joint is deformed. It becomes much thicker than it was before. The joint is blocked, and movement in such a joint is severely limited.

With advanced arthrosis, the deformity usually fixes the finger in the wrong position so strongly that it is almost impossible to return it to its normal position. In addition to this, due to constant friction, inflammation of the periarticular bursa - bursitis - can occur. Then the joint swells, turns red and hurts when walking or the slightest touch.

On a note. Pain in arthrosis, even complicated by bursitis, with rare exceptions, occurs only when walking, from pressure on the big toe. In bed, they almost always go away within 1-2 hours - this is their difference from arthritic pain, which, as you remember, manifests itself more strongly at rest, at night, closer to dawn.

The situation with the deformation of the big toe is aggravated by the fact that it often “pushes out” the second and third toes with its pressure, which leads to a combined deformation of the entire foot, which is very difficult to treat with therapeutic methods.

Treatment of arthrosis of the thumb

To eliminate problems that have recently arisen, sometimes it is enough to choose the right shoes. For example, give up narrow-toed shoes and give preference to those with a wide toe, and use comfortable sports shoes more often.

You can use special spacers placed between the big and second toes to prevent the toes from closing. Such pads are now sold in many pharmacies.

Splints are not able to eliminate inflammation of the big toe bone, but they help straighten the sore toe and prevent it from deforming further.

Overlays for the metatarsal bone of the foot are available for night and day. They are made from different materials and have different prices. An orthopedist will help you choose an overlay (fixator).

In addition , if the joint of the big toe is not yet too severely deformed, you should try to restore it with the help of therapeutic exercises and with the help of therapeutic compresses.

Excellent therapeutic exercises for the big toe are given here: Exercises for bunion *

For compresses, dimexide , or bischofite , or medical bile are used . You need to buy these substances at the pharmacy.

I recommend starting with treatment with dimexide, and if it doesn’t help, move on to compresses with medical bile. Or with bischofite.

Socks with dimexide

Buy dimexide (liquid for compresses, in bottles). The drug can sometimes cause allergies, so before starting treatment it is necessary to test for sensitivity to it. To do this, apply dimexide with a cotton swab to the skin of the arm or shin and wait for about 1 hour.

If severe redness and itching appears, the medicine should not be used. If there is no reaction (a slight tingling feeling does not count), the drug can be used. If the test does not reveal the presence of an allergy to dimexide, we proceed to the procedure itself.

Voltaren - gel or diclofenac - gel into the inflamed bone of the big toe .

Then take a tablespoon of cold boiled water and a tablespoon of dimexide, and mix them in a cup.

After this you will need a sterile bandage. We moisten the bandage with the prepared solution, and wrap it around the foot (over the sore bone) 3-4 times, put on a transparent (but not colored!) plastic bag on top, and socks on top of it.

We wear this sock for 20 minutes the first time, and for subsequent days - up to one hour (no longer!). The procedure is done daily, but only once a day. The course of treatment is 20 days.

Attention! Under no circumstances should the compress be kept for longer than 1 hour!!! This may cause burns! Attention! Do not mix dimexide with water in advance, for example, the night before. The next day, the prepared solution no longer has any therapeutic activity! That is, you need to prepare a fresh solution every time.

Contraindications to Dimexide: - severe liver damage; severe kidney damage; angina pectoris or myocardial infarction; severe atherosclerosis; various types of stroke; glaucoma or cataracts; coma; - children under 12 years of age; pregnancy; lactation period; - hypersensitivity to dimethyl sulfoxide or other components of the drug.

Compresses with medical bile on the thumb bone

Compresses with medical bile are made as follows: 4–6 layers of gauze (gauze pad) need to be soaked in bile and applied to the sore joint.

Then we take a roll of cling film and bandage the gauze with bile with this film. And in addition, we wrap the entire foot so that the bile does not leak. Additionally, you can put a transparent plastic bag on your foot and cotton socks on top of it.

These “socks with bile” should be worn for 2 to 4 hours.

If you tolerate the procedure well and you are not allergic to bile, then after the first 3-4 procedures such “socks with bile” can even be left on overnight.

The procedures are carried out every other day, the course of treatment is 20 procedures.

Attention! Remember that bile is very soiled and can easily ruin clothes or bedding if it leaks from under your socks!

Contraindications: Hypersensitivity to the components of Medical Bile, violation of the integrity of the skin in the areas where the drug is intended to be applied, skin diseases (including inflammatory diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue, pustular diseases, erysipelas), acute diseases of the lymphatic system (lymphangitis and lymphadenitis).

With caution: Pregnancy, lactation, childhood.

Side effects: Possible irritation at the site of the compress, which goes away when the drug is discontinued. In this case, subsequent use of compresses is possible, but not earlier than after 15–40 days.

Important: medical bile should not be mixed with other medicinal substances.

Socks with bischofite

bischofite in liquid form. Most likely, bischofite will be sold under the label “bath liquid”, and it will be written that for baths it must be diluted with water. But you don’t need to dilute it for compresses!

At the same time, bischofite is often sold with herbal supplements - which one to buy does not matter. Buy any liquid bischofite.

We make a compress like this: soak a regular medical bandage generously in liquid bischofite and wrap the foot over the sore joint with this bandage. We put a transparent plastic bag on top of the foot, and woolen socks on top of the bag.

You need to take off this “sock” after 2–3 hours. But if you tolerate the procedure well, you can do it overnight. The course of treatment consists of 30 procedures performed daily.

Bishofite in gel form

Rub Bischofite gel into the joint and apply gauze (gauze pad) on top. Then we take a roll of cling film and bandage the gauze to the leg with this film. We put a transparent plastic bag on top of the foot, and woolen socks on top of the bag.

You need to take off this “sock” after 2–3 hours. But if you tolerate the procedure well, you can do it overnight. The course of treatment consists of 30 procedures performed daily.

***

If the deformity of the big toe has already gone too far, and neither compresses, nor fixatives, nor therapeutic exercises help you, then in this case, apparently, corrective surgery .

***

READ MORE:

You can read the first chapters from the book “The Secret Formula of Health” here
Chapters from other books by Dr. Evdokimenko
Where to buy books by Dr. Evdokimenko

The benefits of exercise therapy

A set of exercises can be used for healthy feet as a preventive measure.
At the first manifestations of the disease, physical therapy is the main method of fighting for the beauty of the legs.

The complex is prescribed by an orthopedic doctor after examining the patient and determining the severity of the disease. In the exercise therapy room, the physiotherapist is obliged to show and explain the technique for performing them.

Such gymnastics will help relieve not only pain, but also fatigue after a working day.

If all the doctor’s instructions are correctly followed, the patient can notice the first results within 2-3 weeks. Pain may decrease, muscle tone will increase, and ligaments will become stronger.

You should not stop doing the exercises after getting the desired result. Gymnastics after treatment must be continued and done constantly, reducing the frequency of exercises.