You can do something about your Bunions, you do no have to accept that they will just continue to worsen. What’s more you can do most of this work at home, with a little help from your Bowen Therapist.
Although this process is effective, the process of getting rid of a bunion is a long one and needs constant effort on your behalf, though it is worth it and will improve your overall body mobility and decrease pain levels.
About Bunions
Bunions are one of the most common forefoot deformities. A displacement of the bone under the 1st toe occurs. This causes the big toe to move towards the smaller toes. This shifting of the bones causes a bony prominence on the side of the foot. Over time the big toe may come to rest under ) the 2nd toe or a hammer toe may occur. This is when the toe contracts and presses on the shoe.
Secondary symptoms are redness, swelling and pain which may be present along the inside margin of the foot or corns in other places on the foot especially on top of the 2nd toe. Callouses occur on the soles or sides of the feet. Stiffness can occur at the big toe due to arthritis. You may also experience ingrowing toenails or a bursitis at the bunion joint.
A bunion is more common in women than men due to women wearing tighter fitting shoes. This condition can cause a variety of different soft tissue and bony complaints which may result in severe pain. Tight fitting shoes and an uneven gait caused by poor posture are the main preventable causes of bunions. Both of these can be address by a course of Bowen Therapy and the bunions can be helped by following this procedure.
What do I need?
Idosalve, formally manufactured as Iodex
Idosalve is a combination of Methyl Salicilate and Iodine, mixed into a peanut oil base. Therefore care should be taken if you have a nut allergy. It was manufactured commercially for many years, under the brand name Iodex, and Idosalve is now made especially for ECBS, although Iodex is still avaiable in some countries and over the internet
Both of these preparations are good to use for bunions as the iodine starts the process of breaking down the joint calcification and Methyl Salicilate eases the pain and inflammation. Clients with arthritic joints, especially fingers, find a regular application reduces the pain and increases flexibility in the joint..
Epsom Salts
Epsom Salts are the same as magnesium sulfate and is absorbed through the skin when taking a bath. It reduces inflammation and starts to soften the calcification of your joints that cause the bunions.
Epsom salts can be purchased from chemists in large bags and can be bought loose and in large bags as Magnesium sulphate, from garden centres or often equestrian stores.
What do I do?
1) Daily Epsom Salt Footbath.
Add 3 tablespoons of Epsom salts to a footbath or a bowl of pleasantly warm water.
Soak your feet for 10 minutes then dry thoroughly
2) Twice daily apply Iodex to the outside of the bunion.
Do this after the foot bath and once more at another time of day.
3) Visit your Bowen practitioner to help you with this process.
Why do I need Bowen at all for this protocol?
Bowen can help to expedite the process and help to encourage mobility in your feet and the toe joints that are suffering. What’s more, having your body balanced with Bowen will help to improve symmetry in your body and the way that you walk and your posture will improve. This will support the healing of the Bunions. The reasons that the bunions appeared in the first place may be due to posture, gait, your shoes, genetics, or a combination of these factors. By addressing the contributory causative factors, and following the home protocol you can have a multi faceted plan of action address the problem.
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