All the women in my family have bunions. And that freaks the crap out of me.
I don’t want yucky claw feet that look freaky in sandals, and more importantly that hurt all the time!
This is exactly the sort of thing I love to investigate a natural prevention or cure for. We don’t have to be victims to these sorts of conditions. A bunion isn’t something that attacks and we just have to succumb to. Although it’s true that some people are more prone to them (like my family) and some people can wear pointy shoes to their heart’s content and never get them.
But generally speaking a bunion happens over time, and it’s something we can prevent and even reverse naturally.
I want pretty, pain-free feet forever
Probably around age 25 I started to notice my feet would be kinda achey if I wore pointy shoes for the day. The pain was mainly in the big toe joint. Eventually I made the connection that this could eventually result in bunions. I started researching prevention immediately!
When you’re naturally more pre-disposed to getting them, you can’t just avoid pointy shoes, you have to proactively reshape your feet to keep them flexible and youthful.
How to prevent & treat bunions without surgery
1. Get some toe stretchers! Mine are called Profoot Flex-tastic Toe Relaxers and they are TOTALLY AWESOME. At first I wore them every night for 5-10 minutes just when I was eating dinner or relaxing for a bit in the evening. I did that for maybe a week or 2.
Now, I only use them every couple of months if I feel a bit of tightness in my toe joint. They feel sort of pressurey when they’re on, but not uncomfortable. And then when you take them off your feet feel oh so flexy and lovely, like you want to do a twinkle toe dance. Very rejuvenating!
Another suggestion for relieving any pain and inflammation is to use some Deep Blue pain-relieving essential oil. It’s great for muscle and joint pain of all kinds. You can also rather conveniently get is as a rub.
We don’t realize how much stress our feet take every day and we should thank them and take care of them! If we don’t they will turn on us and make our lives hell! :)
2. Do some yoga!
I’m not saying you have to spend an hour every night practicing or get a membership or learn how to do a headstand. I’m just saying use your toes mindfully when they are out of shoes. Use them to balance, spread them and grip the floor, and feel the power of each little tiny hard-working toe.
I’ve noticed since I’ve been practicing yoga semi-regularly my toes get sore a lot less often. I love balance poses like Tree, Chair or twisting lunges and arching upward while in downward dog to really feel the toe power!
Here’s a nice half-hour video with Yoga with Adriene that you can try. See how your toes (and obv your whole body!!) feel afterward!
And finally, yeees, you do want to avoid wearing those pinchy pointy shoes every day. Maybe keep them just for a sexy date night or when you need an extra confidence boost. It doesn’t mean you have to wear granny shoes, but a more natural toe shape that doesn’t literally re-shape you foot into a sad, cramped, diseased state is probably a good call. Your future self will thank you when you can still go for a nice nature hike when you’re 80 ;)
Please share below…
How do you show your feetsies some love? What tricks have you discovered for lasting foot health? Let us know in the comments so we can all help eachother out!
