PODIATRIST DISCUSSES WHETHER EARLY BUNION SURGERY CAN PREVENT ARTHRITIS
posted: Oct. 15, 2020.
Some studies show early bunion surgery means more of the joint can be preserved, so patients need fewer pins and less bone cut off the bunion, says Dr. Jill Halstead-Rastrick, an academic podiatrist and a spokesperson for the charity Versus Arthritis. "The important thing is to monitor the progression of the toes and the arthritis pain with your specialist," she says. "If the angle of the bunion is getting worse, and you are in pain, then consider an earlier surgical opinion."
Dr. Jill Halstead-Rastrick |
But Dr. Halstead-Rastrick says while there is a strong link between bunions and arthritis in other foot joints, "we can’t say by delaying bunion surgery, it will conclusively lead to problems in other joints. There is often a strong hereditary pattern in having a bunion in both feet and arthritia in other parts of the body," she says. In fact, Dr. Halstead-Rastrick says that bunion surgery, rather than preventing arthritis in the toes and the rest of the foot, can have the opposite effect,
Source: Sound Health and Lasting Wealth [10/12/20]
Courtesy of Barry Block, editor of PM News.