By Dr. Ronald S. Dubin

Guest Columnist

 

Have you ever said to yourself, I would like to be a surgeon? For many folks, the surgical train has left and are too “aged” to go to medical school and then a five year surgical residency. But I have a great option and one where you can perform a surgical treatment today which can fix a surgical condition.

Yes, I will show you how you can buy a “tool” and use this to fix a common cause of foot pain (and deformities). So you ask, how is this possible? Keep reading.

Bunions of the great toe are common conditions that affect many people as they age. This is where the first toe forms a large bump which extends to the inside of your toe and creates pressure and friction between it and your tight fitting and narrow shoe. The causes of this are many but one of the common etiologies are ladies who frequently wear high heels. This is one reason why it is most common in females.

Frequently, this is a non-painful condition, and the only problem is cosmetic. As orthopedic surgeons, we hesitate to recommend a surgical procedure to fix something which is not broken. However, if and when it does create pain and alters your lifestyle then a surgical treatment might be considered. But you are still hesitant knowing that post-surgical pain is real, it will alter your lifestyle for as long as six weeks to three months, and that the results of surgery might not work the way you were expecting.

Here is where you can exercise your surgical rights — except that your patient is not your foot, it’s your shoe. Huh? You ask. Yes, I am going to teach you another way of fixing a bunion which is never taught in medical school, nor will any podiatrist or orthopedic surgeon mention it to you because it’s not in their interest to do so.

So here is the Dubin treatment for Bunions. Go to Amazon and buy this $39 “surgical instrument” which is a ball and ring apparatus where the ball portion is inserted inside your shoe exactly where the bunion is located and the ring stays outside your shoe in the same location. Then tighten it so that the effect is to stretch that portion of the shoe to better accommodate the bunion and, in turn, relieve the pain. Let the tool stretch your shoe overnight and try it on a cheap pair of shoes first.

It will not correct the deformity but remember Dr. Bunion, we don’t perform cosmetic surgery where there is no pain. This tool can fix other conditions around your foot like a bunionette or a bunion on your 5th or little toe, hammertoes, claw toes, corns, or even in back of your foot where you might have a painful Achilles tendonitis or even a Haglund’s deformity (look it up).  There are many of these tools available online and for those who might be wondering – no I do not own or have any financial interest in this.

There are other external fitting things that you can buy that might also work and are inexpensive. Such as wrap around elastic wraps which you can wear in your shoe or at least, at night time. See what serves you the best. You won’t lose anything by doing it and it might even save you from a painful surgical procedure.