Why do I have a bunion?

Why do you have a bunion???

Isn’t that the question, let me guess, you think it’s a genetic thing cos one of your parents had them, and their parent did too….

Unfortunately (or fortunately) not…Daniel lieberman the Harvard paleo-anthropologist once coin the term dysevolution.

We seem to think evolution only works to further and better the species, but that’s just not true and dysevolution is the term used by liberman to frame the ways in which we as humans are becoming maladapted to the world we are creating around ourselves .

Bunions are one of these mismatched maladaptations….as we do

Less and less and become lazier and lazier (Wall è is like a crystal ball) the way in which we move becomes increasing compromised.

As children, we develop a series of patterns which should help us learn to move as fluidly and efficiently as possible but if we are stuck in baby bouncers or in trendy converse baby shoes and socks from a super young age these can be missed.

On top of this we begin to learn to walk by watching our parents who most like also walk like shit 🤷‍♂️🤣

So your mother and her bunion show you a way of walking which you copy and creates an environment in which you are more likely to develop one your self.

As you can see in the photo, a bunion is most often a joint which is overly open an never gets a chance to close.

Why does this matter? Well in each and every footstep all 26 bones and 33 joints of the foot should move between two different shapes in 3 planes of motion. If the big toe joint is stuck in an overly opened position it will have a knock on effect throughout the rest of the foot/ankle/leg, pelvis, spine, shoulders, neck and head.

When I see a bunion it tends to speak to me and tell me that the foot and leg it is part of really wants to be better at pronating itself. In pronation the foot should lengthen and spread wider. (In doing so the big toe should move in the same direction as a bunion.)

Because the toes are almost “open Chain” in that there is no more bones after them, they become the last line of defence for making the body work as efficiently possible.

So if the direction the toe has moved would happen in a pronation, we can see how the toe could be trying to drag the rest of the foot into length and widening by pulling in that “open chain”

So what to do??? Well of course we wanna put movement back into areas that have lost it. I have found on numerous occasions pain in the foot/ties has lessened solely through a quick mobilisation and asking the body to move towards a state in which those already long tissues get lengthen more and that triggers a signal to pull back (and in doing so closes the overly open toe joint?)

Once we start opening and closing previously stuck joints we will begin to “floss/lube” up those areas. Like taking wd40 to a rusty nut and bolt.

So that’s the key to bunions….lube 🤣🤣🤣…isn’t that the answer to so much In life 🤣🤣.

If you have a bunion and it’s causing you issues, why not hit me up and let’s get lubing them there feet up 🙌🏻🙌🏻 I work in person from my studio in suffolk or online with many from around the world. Book or email using the link below

www.mandukyayoga.as.me/121

Wibbs@mandukyayoga.com

To B(union) or not to B(union) that’s the question….or is it.

Bunions

Yes I know it’s Sunday morning and most people are weirded out by feet especially before 8am but come on, hands up, who has a bunion??

Whose big toe is pointing inwards rather than forwards??

I have worked with numerous clients who struggle with bunions and pain around their feet and toes which the medical teams have said….”SURGERY….ITS THE ONLY OPTION…..CUT THAT FUCKER UP!!!”

Ok maybe they didn’t use that language or shout it but that’s their basic gist.

Far to often the idea is just to cut and shut things which don’t look/feel right…but what if that bunion is there for a reason?

The body is bloody clever and will not do things without a good cause or reason and when it comes to the feet, they are no exception. 

The big toe (along with every other stucture in the foot) should constantly be moving in 3 planes of motion throughout the gait cycle. There should be up and downy movements, left and righty movements and round and rounds movements (those aren’t the technical terms) 

So what if you hurt some part of the foot and it stops moving properly? Could another part of the foot start to have to move more to make up for the lack of movement in that part?

Well yes. 

The movement seen at the 1st toe joint is actually an exaggerated version of what should happen when our foot pronates (which it should do every step we take) but due to issues within the foot or body is unable to stop doing it. 

If your foot cannot probate, your body may well try one or more of a bunch of things to try to get the same loading of tissues that is required for effective efficient movement…and abduction (the big toe moving towards the second toe) is one such option it can take. 

It’s like it’s trying to say “LOOK IM PULLING THIS FUCKING TOE IN THIS DIRECTION…WHEN IS THE REST OF THE FOOT/LEG/BODY GOING TO FOLLOW!!!!”

Without use understanding the 3 dimensional movement of the foot and working to improve how the foot moves as a whole, cutting the bunion back and just pulling the toe straight NEVER gets to the root cause of the issue. So guess what, the toe returns back to the same space again asking the same question

“SERIOUSLY GUYS….LOOK IM PULLING THIS FUCKING TOE IN THIS DIRECTION FOR A LEGITIMATE REASON, LISTEN TO ME THIS TIME…WHEN IS THE REST OF THE FOOT/LEG/BODY GOING TO FOLLOW AND GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK FROM DOING ALL THE PISSING WORK DOWN HERE!!!!”

So the moral of the story is that your body is WAY cleverer than you are. Admit it, accept it and begin to learn from it. 

A bunion is there to tell you something needs to change in the way you move your feet and body. That pain it’s causing is asking you, not so politely, to take some interest in understanding how this wonder of evolution that we stroll about in works and functions and to give it some better inputs. 

If you have a bunion and you have been told that it needs surgery, before you go down that route, hit me up, surgery should always and only ever be a last resort.

Let’s work together to make you feel better in your feet so you can spread the word and we can take a whole heap of pressure off the NHS by stopping do so many needless operations. 

Remember I work in person and online both equally successfully so no reason to not let me help you learn more about your feet and get them moving better for less pain.