"Oh no, summer has come but I can't wear sandals"

Busan Daedong Hospital Presents Countermeasures for Hallux Valgus Toe Deformity
Higher Incidence Among Women in Summer, Increasing Cases in Men Due to Fashion Choices

Deformed foot of a patient with hallux valgus.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] As the summer season of 'toe exposure' approaches, diseases causing toe deformities are also lurking, and medical staff at Busan Daedong Hospital have presented coping methods.

A (43-year-old female) who has been working for 20 years cannot wear sandals even though the weather has become hot. She used to enjoy wearing high heels and sandals, but last year, when the protruding area on the side of her right big toe hurt, she went to the hospital and was diagnosed with 'bunion.' She has painful memories of having surgery and resting for about a week. She cannot even think of wearing sandals this summer.

Bunion is a condition where several tendons of the big toe bone deviate from their normal alignment or the joint capsule surrounding the joint stretches, causing the big toe to bend severely toward the second toe. The metatarsal bone forming the joint with the big toe is deformed inwardly, causing severe pain.

The most common symptom is pain caused by the protruding area of the big toe deformity continuously rubbing against shoes, thickening, and inflammation. Corns or pain may also develop on the sole under the metatarsals of the second or third toes due to the big toe deformity. Due to foot deformity, it becomes difficult to walk with proper posture, leading to functional impairment where the feet easily become fatigued during long walks.

Wearing high heels, flip-flops, or sandals for a long time can cause toe deformities.

The causes of bunion are very diverse. There are congenital factors, and acquired factors that gradually develop from wearing high heels, pointed shoes, sandals, or flip-flops.

In the hot summer, flat sandals with thin and hard soles or flip-flops that pinch the toes support the weight only on the front toes, easily causing toe deformities. This is why careful selection of summer shoes is necessary.

Looking at the monthly number of patients treated for bunion according to the National Health Insurance Corporation in 2013, July (9,353 patients) had 1.3 times more patients than November (7,075 patients), which had the lowest number of patients. There are more patients in the summer.

Bunion, commonly known as a representative female foot disease, accounts for 84.7% of all patients being women. However, the average annual increase rate among men is also rising. Recently, the number of bunion patients among men aged from their teens to their 50s has surged. This is attributed to men becoming more interested in fashion and wearing shoes that strain walking, such as shoes with high-heeled insoles or narrow shoes and sandals.

Dr. Yoo Sung-ho, head of the Foot and Ankle Center at Daedong Hospital (orthopedic specialist), said, “Many patients do not visit the hospital in the early stages when they only feel slight foot deformity and leave it untreated, but as the deformity progresses and the big toe crosses over the second toe, weight distribution becomes uneven, causing continuous corns on the sole and changes in walking posture.”

Treatment is carried out through conservative treatment or surgery depending on the severity. In the early stages, treatment starts by wearing comfortable shoes or using corrective insoles to avoid irritation of the protruding area and under the toes, and surgery is required if the pain is severe.

A Daedong Hospital official said, “Prevention is the most important aspect of bunion,” and added, “Avoid high heels over 2.5 cm, avoid low and hard shoes, wear shoes made of soft materials, wear shoes with about 1 cm of extra space compared to your foot size, relieve foot fatigue, and perform toe stretching.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.