Shed Some Pounds To Relieve Your Bunion Pain

If you're frustrated with the pain of your bunions and have decided to visit a foot care professional for help, there are many potential treatment options that you can pursue. Surgery can often be an eventual form of treatment, but if you aren't keen on going that route, you'll want to take a proactive role in reducing your bunion pain. Things such as avoiding problematic footwear can be helpful, but you should also consider the amount of pressure that you're putting on your feet. The heavier you are, the greater the pressure — and this means that you'll suffer more pain. If you're able to lose some weight, you'll often experience a decrease in your bunion pain.

Burning Calories

In order to lose weight, your body needs to burn more calories than it takes in. Getting daily exercise is a logical way to reach this caloric deficit, but when your feet are sore because of your bunions, you might not be keen on being on your feet more than you have to — and this can make the idea of working out to burn calories a difficult one. Fortunately, you can rely on a series of exercises that don't hurt your bunions. Swimming in particular is effective because it's not a weight-bearing activity. You may also wish to consider using a rowing machine or riding a stationary bicycle, which are both activities that have minimal impact on your feet.

Reducing Calories

Exercise is integral when you want to lose weight, but you'll also want to make some changes to your diet to speed up the process of weight loss. If you've become overweight or obese — leading to increased bunion pain — you'll hopefully be able to identify the foods that have put you on this path. For example, you might be drinking several cans of soda throughout the day or snacking on chips and cookies; you'll need to curb this habit if you hope to lose weight to relieve your bunion pain.

Evaluating Your Progress

Although you won't achieve any traceable weight loss overnight, you should begin to see results each week if you weigh yourself. You may also notice that your bunion pain is decreasing, which should encourage you to continue whatever you've been doing. If you find that you're struggling to lose weight and your bunions continue to bother you, however, you should return to your foot care professional to discuss other bunion treatment options.

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