The Word "Bunion" Crossed My Mind, Then the Word Arthritis, Then I Got Busy!

Gotta love your feet all inclusively, webbed toes and bunions.....

And then the word why, followed by a reassuring no, I can't imagine.  However, it is a fact that I could have a bunion or two or arthritis.  The fact that I think I have been treating my feet rather well for a long time may not be good enough, there is genetics (possible anomalies of the feet) after all and other factors, like diet (I am trying very hard to get all the nutrients to keep healthy), keep stress at bay (I live in noisy polluted NYC but love the Big Apple anyway), etc. 

So what prompted that?  I felt a burning sensation on the base of my left big toe (hallux) a few weeks ago for the first time.  Are my shoes tight, heels high?  How am I moving about?  I was scanning my body from the feet up to the head.  

How did the feet hit the ground; did they both hit the ground the same way?  Are my toes pointing forward, towards each other, away from each other?  Is the arch of my foot collapsing?   The answers were no, that is when arthritis crossed my mind.  In the meantime I concluded that I do have developed a bit of a bunion.   

Reflexing the chin: I remembered one of my friends who has bunions saying that Dien Cham alleviated burning sensations on her feet.  Indeed, reflexing the tip of the chin left of the center line immediately made the burning sensations disappear.  The pain returned a couple of times since.  I have been observing; naturally, I use Dien Cham whenever there is pain anyway.  On one or two occasions I worked in addition to the area on the chin also the area on the thumb (pollux) which is associated with the big toe.  The pain immediately disappeared.  Perhaps it is also time to do more foot reflexology again.  I have been resorting to hand and facial reflexology thinking that because I am without shoes whenever I can (I even "barefoot hike" at times) or that I wear mostly low-heeled or no-heeled shoes (as of two years ago I have been wearing Japanese tabi shoes from spring to fall) and - that I always try to practice body awareness even when I do not practice yoga or chi gong, or do sports - may make foot reflexology unnecessary.  No doubt, I love foot reflexology, but the hands and face are just more accessible (for Reflexology on the run); time to get back to foot reflexology because of this challenge and ideally schedule exchanges (with colleagues); it most certainly will not reverse the bunion, but will support foot health greatly and who knows it may not get worse.   
Fortunately, there has been very little pain these last few days despite the fact that I have not had a foot session yet.   

What causes bunions?  After a bit of research, it seems that webbed toes/short first metatarsal (in which the second toe is longer than the big toe) favor bunion development (both applies to me).  There was also that metatarsal fracture almost 30 years ago which did not heal properly for a long time, but I do not even remember which foot that was, so this may not be a factor.  I think I have written about this in the past.  I also remember being more flat-footed in the past; I like to think that I "developed arches" through yoga and good footwear.  Yes, it is possible, taking into consideration that I have been practicing foot awareness through yoga for twenty years. 

I love yoga: As always I am very appreciative of yoga in my life - if you have been on this blog before you must be bored of hearing this - and I am sure that my feet (and my entire skeletal system) would be in much worse shape than they are, remember the feet are the foundation of our structure.  Challenges with the feet are liekly to cause challenges in the kneees, hips, lower back, etc. I might even have developed pain decades ago.  Yoga asanas (poses) are built from the feet up, the weight is evenly balanced on both feet in Tadasana (mountain pose) and many other poses.    
Tadasana: "Stand with the bases of your big toes touching, heels slightly apart (so that your second toes are parallel). Lift and spread your toes and the balls of your feet, then lay them softly down on the floor. Rock back and forth and side to side. Gradually reduce this swaying to a standstill, with your weight balanced evenly on the feet." (source: yoga journal, see for link at bottom of the page)

LV Chair Yoga: Even when teaching LV Chair yoga poses the feet play a big role.  It was yoga that brought my attention to my feet and also made Reflexology as well as Chi Gong so interesting to me.  

Being proactive about foot care:
It is very important to keep your feet as healthy as you can.  There are many more bones there than anywhere else in the body.  Being ignorant about them is a categorical NO, you will most likely pay for it down the road.  (Remember Lady Gaga and her shoes and her hip surgery?)  Feet are the foundation of our physical structure.  We have to be proactive about keeping them limber, circulated and give them lots of TLC and that goes way beyond pedicures; it may mean seeking out a podiatrist as well as getting foot reflexology sessions; and remember with foot reflexology it's not just your feet receiving TLC, it is your entire body.   Note to myself: do more research, go see a podiatrist (get some expert advise).     

Geriatric Care: A few years ago I read an article about geriatric care that appeared in the New York Times.  Older people's quality of life dramatically takes a turn for the worse once they fall (this is what happened to my late grandfather) and suffer fractures which brings me back to the feet; this is often the moment they lose their independence.  There is no need to explain the connection between feet and falling, is there?

It is the Age of Selfies Indeed:  It was not until I took the above photo that I realized that yes, indeed the left MPJ is more pronounced than the right one.  And yes, I look at my feet all the time.  How come I did not notice that before?  Only when I felt pain I took a much closer look and a selfie (for this article).     

The definition of bunion as per the AAOS (American Academy of Orthopeadic Surgeons):

"Bunion

A bunion is an enlargement of bone or tissue around the joint at the base of the big toe. As the bunion grows, the big toe may turn in toward the second toe and cause swelling and pain with shoe wear.

A bunion is a bony knob that protrudes from the base of the big toe.

Although genetic factors may play a role in whether you develop bunions, in most cases, bunions are widely attributed to wearing shoes that are too tight.
Nonsurgical treatment involves wearing shoes with a wider toe box, wearing a spacer between your big and second toe, taping your toe, and/or applying ice to your toe. If these simple treatment measures are not effective, your doctor may discuss surgery to remove the bunion.

Here is the link:
About arthritis in the foot
http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00209 
Tadasana: Mountain Pose
http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/492  

Birgit Nagele, ARCB, LVCHT™
ARCB-nationally certified Reflexologist 
Reflexology, LV Chair Yoga, Employee Wellness Online (new)
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