Some people must think some people are really stupid. I recently screen shot some pictures posted on a website that I stumbled across and has now been taken down. They must think that people really are that stupid. It was from a website promoting and selling a “bunion corrector”.
Here is the first image. This was the bunion allegedly before the use of the bunion corrector:
Here is the image with the bunion corrector applied to the foot:
And here is the image they posted after the alleged use of the bunion corrector:
They went on to say how incredible these bunion splints, braces or correctors are. You do not have to be Einstein to see that all the photos were taken on the same day (notice the shoe in the ground) and the before shot is the left foot and the after shot is the right foot … seriously?
That does not mean that there is anything wrong with them. From what I understand the evidence is that after a month of wear, they can reduce the angle of hallux valgus by a few degrees. I use the ones like these to help with that deeper pain you can often get inside bunions and find they are also useful at keeping the joint mobile which is probably a good thing.
Even though the evidence does show they can induce small changes in the angle of the hallux with regular use over a month, I am also realistic with patients and point out that during the day there is a lot of force produced from the footwear and biomechanics creating the lateral deviation. Is it really possible for wearing the splint at night undo all that? I have no idea if it does or does not, but need to question if it can and instil realistic expectations into patiensts when discussing this.
I have nothing against trying these bunion correctors. Its just the critical thinking skills needed for all the over hyped and nonsensical marketing claims that get made for them. The one above is obvious, others not so obvious.
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