Is It Bad to Crack Your Bunion – How To Treat Bunions
A bunion is not a growth on the side of your foot that needs to be removed. Although there is a claim that repeatedly cracking the joint can stretch the joint’s capsule, this claim is not necessarily true.
Bunions are a condition that affects the forefoot where the big toe angulation starts to shift, moving away from the midline and towards the 2-5th toes. While in some circumstances there may be no pain present, in others it may be excruciating to move or stand still. There are a variety of treatments and actions you can take to treat a bunion, as well as variables to take into account to lower your risk of developing one.
Is It Bad to Crack a Bunion?
You can hear a cracking sound when you crack a joint because you are quickly forcing gas out of the joint. Like most other joints, the big toe’s joint naturally fills with gas when you relax it. As you move your toe, the gas naturally escapes the joint, but if you do so quickly when the capsule is full, it will make a cracking noise. Although there is a claim that repeatedly cracking the joint can stretch the joint’s capsule, this claim is not necessarily true.
Are Bunions Hereditary?
In a nutshell, yes, bunions run in families. Your family history and the likelihood of getting a bunion are strongly correlated. a study conducted by Vidal et al., 2007. based on 350 patients with bunions (hallux valgus) found that 90% of these cases have a family history of bunions, affecting some families over 3 generations. The authors of Nery et al., 2013, identified that bunions in males are transmitted by the mother.
Can You Massage a Bunion Away?
A bunion cannot be massaged away. Soft tissue massage won’t help with a bunion because it’s caused by the big toe joint’s structural angulation. The tone of the muscles in the foot and ankle can be reduced and flexibility can be improved with massage. It can be a useful strategy for lowering the risk of bunions forming when used in conjunction with stretching.
A foam roller or a massage gun are effective home treatments for massage. They can offer momentary pain relief if used for 3–4 minutes on the calf muscle and 1–2 minutes on the plantar surface of the foot.
What’s Happening When You Crack Your Knuckles?
The crackle and pop of your knuckles actually come from bursting nitrogen bubbles that float in the synovial fluid of your joints. Joints in your fingers and toes are lubricated by synovial fluid.
You might feel momentarily looser and more flexible when you crack your knuckles. That’s because it takes about 20 minutes for the bubbles to come back after you’ve burst them. You could feel a sense of lightness during that time.
That, however, is a misconception, claim the doctors. The sense of looseness is entirely mental; you haven’t actually released any pressure. As orthopedic surgeon Robert Klapper of Cedars-Sinai Hospital notes, “Feeling good after cracking your knuckles is a psychological experience.”
Summary
It’s most likely harmless when the bending of the toes produces crepitus, which are clicking, popping, or grating noises. It may be due to pressure or trapped gas in the joint space or caused by the “snapping” of a ligament with rapid movement. More serious conditions like bone spurs or cartilage loss in a joint space may also be to blame for the sound.
Crepitus in the toes may also indicate a medical issue that needs attention. This covers stress fractures and past toe injuries. It may also be due to osteoarthritis (“wear-and-tear arthritis”) or long-term complications of autoimmune arthritis (including rheumatoid arthritis and gout).
If crepitus doesn’t cause pain or restrict mobility, it usually doesn’t need to be treated. Treatment may be required, and it can depend on the cause, if there are additional symptoms like pain or a loss of mobility.
