Running shoes for bunion suffers

Check out Altra. Extremely roomy and very comfortable. I have the Intuition.

Also, i have had bunion surgery on both feet, about 20 years apart.

You need shoes that are wide in the toebox and have a large "bunion window" (the place where the harder pieces of fabric frame a place in the soft fabric for the bunion to stick out.  She may have to try several different brands/styles of shoes before she finds one that works.  I'd go to your LRS and identify the problem and see if they can help her find and try out several different shoes to find one that works.  I wear Brooks in a womens wide or a mens regular and have not had any that irritated my bunion in several years.  I currently run in the Ghost4s, PureFlows, Pure Grits and Green Silence and these are all wide in the toebox. 

I lost the better part of a winter due to my bunions.  Once I figured out the problem, my LRS helped me by cutting part of the harder part of the fabric off of the shoes I was wearing (Brooks Defyance 3s - they had a bar of the harder fabric right across the bunion window) and helped me identify a different pair of shoes that had a bigger window (Brooks Glycerine 8s) which I bought because they worked and because the shop was so nice to fix the other shoe for me. 

Also, on longer runs, I wear a cotton ball between my big toe and my next toe to keep my big toe from bending in towards the other toes.  I used to tape it on with a band-aid but found that it generally stays in place without taping.  You can also buy silicone spacers at the drugstore, but I have not tried them with running because they are bigger than the cotton ball.  Unfortunately, I have found that my work shoes are a big contributor to my bunion issues, so I am very careful about what I wear and put in the silicon spacer if my bunion starts to bother me.

You might also ask your LRS to help your mom lace her shoes to give her more ease in the bunion area.  And lastly, if your mom's feet swell a lot when she runs (mine do), she may need to go up a size and/or width.  My foot measures an 8.5 regular when I'm not hot/swollen, but I am a 9 wide when I have run any distance more than 3 miles, so bigger shoes might also contribute to your solution. 

Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Steph

Most guys don't wear high heels, which is a MAJOR contributor to bunions (but not all bunions are because of heels).

She might want to give the Salomon XR Mission a try. Roomy toebox, plus an expandable side panel especially for people with bunions. The shoe is made to be worn on both road and trails, so it's a great all purpose shoe.

Brooks is also a great option. The Ghost is available in wide widths from several online stores.

^THIS!

I was having a horrendous time with my feet for the majority of last year, to the point where literally every step hurt.  I cut out wearing heels of any height whatsoever as well as bandaging/cushioning those areas that were causing pain.  Definitely look at shoes with a wider toe box as well, I bought mens bike shoes as they've got a much wider toe box than the ladies versiona and I run in Saucony ProGrids, but will be looking for something even roomier when I get my next pair. 

Thanks for all the help.  We went to the LRS last night and she ended up with the Brooks Glycerines.  Went up 1/2 a size from the Asics she was running in .

First test with them is later today so we will see.

Another thought if the ones she bought last night don't work for her is to look at men's running shoes because typically the last is wider.  I went to men's because I was looking for a firmer foam that would hold up longer for me but a side benefit has been that my wide feet are much happier in the men's. 

"dodgersmom - 2012-05-23 9:28 AM

Trying to help my mom. She started running a few years ago.  The bunions were around before that, but recently they have really flared up and her current shoes (Asics) are causing her pain.

Any recommendations for a shoe that may be better for her?"

Dear dodgersmom,

    With all due respect to other posters, given what you said along with my own experience and others I have known, there is no certainty regarding bunion surgery's being in your mom's future. I would very strongly recommend you read as much as you can online as well as other places, and you will see what I mean. There is no consensus, even in the medical community regarding bunions and or flat feet -realizing you didn't say your mom has flat feet, but they are very often found together and are certainly often related, as in my case.

     I believe very strongly that finding the right shoes is the key. Unfortunately, that is a formidable challenge and requires input from many sources, as recommendations are often inconsistent, even from many sources one would naturally considerable reliable. Even being fitted and/or advised at a 'specialty' running store is not enough. There are some good shoes for bunion sufferers, but not any one shoe is good for all. It is indeed a pain, no pun intended, but your mom will be best served by trying on as many different brands, and shoes within each brand known for providing the few agreed upon design features- i.e. wide toeboxes, as possible, because as you have already found, any shoe that is great for one bunion sufferer can be  confoundingly awful for another bunion sufferer.

    Finally, for what it's worth, the one consistency I have seen and experienced is that bunions are best respected by being given absolutely minimum friction and contact. So, contrary to the old adage, as we have learned the hard way, when there is pain, there is no gain! Regards!         

This ^^^^ is exactly what I do.  Acsics Nimbus 4E is perfect for me and my 63yr old bunions.

Huge bunion issues here.  I'll put mine up against anybody.  My big toe literally shoots across and lays over the top of my second and third toes...no joke.  I typically wear a hole in the middle of the fabric of the toe box of my shoes where my big toe rubs up against it.  People ask why I haven't gotten it surgically repaired and I tell them cause it hasn't bothered me yet.  Truth be told I may opt for amputation rather than correction as recovery is faster and my big toe hasn't been in the right place for the past 5 or 6 years so I don't think it would do anything to my balance.

I would post pictures but I know a lot of you just finished lunch.

I have moderate bunions and this is what I have. Roomy toe box. The shoe is comfy and stands up well to the running abuse.  Glad she is comfortable!

Most of the advice given here is sound.  Look for shoes with a wider toe box.  Soft material or as someone put it "bunion window".  Also they way she laces her shoes can help.  I use gap lacing around the toe box area and criss cross on the uppers.  Works wonders for me.

http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/gaplacing.htm

I have worn Brooks Beasts and had good luck, and now I'm in a pair of Hoka One One Stinson Evo's and haven't had problems with either.

I'm too late but I have bunions and noticed when I switched from shoes with a traditional stack to low drop shoes the bunions did not hurt anymore.

Oh I forgot.  Another thing I do is use elastic shoe laces.  I get the elastic lace tightness just right and then just tie a knot in them at the last lace hole and cut the excess laces off.  That way my shoes are always laced with the same comfortable tension that can allow my shoe toe box to flex just that much more to alleviate ANY bunion pressure. This has worked for me for 3 years of running and my HIM at 63yr old.

Hope this helps

They can be hereditary. I had bunions at age 3. Pretty sure I wasn't wearing heels.

With all due respect to you, where did you get this?  My wife is currently in week 8 of bunion surgery recovery and it's her 2nd foot to be surgically corrected.  Her other foot was done around Christmas of 2011 and it's been wonderful for her.  She didn't rush into anything, and for many years her primary Dr. and also podiatrists and orthopedic surgeons unanimously said she needed surgery.  The only thing I can think of that you're inferring about "lack of consensus" is that some bunion surgeries could be delayed if they aren't too bad.  I know of nothing to prevent them either...There are braces and wedges designed to "slow down" the bunion development but they didn't work for my wife and all the Docs say it's snake oil...And that I would say is a consensus...

In many cases bunions left untreated morphs into hammer toe and while for some (earlier poster) it's not an issue, for many it's painful and worse, you can develop other issues, back, knee etc., from compensating for the bad feet...

I would suggest to get a few different opinions before committing to a plan.  We've heard some horror stories of botched bunion surgeries performed by podiatrists so I would recommend an orthopedic surgeon, preferably one who specializes in bunions..

Once my wife is recovered from this last surgery, she expects to resume a very active lifestyle, one that doesn't hobble her due to those awful bunions..

Getting a comfortable shoe is a good idea in the short run but it's merely treating the symptom, not the problem..

Good luck....Surgery isn't easy and my wife has had a lot of challenges along the way but she's through one and in the closing stages of the second and she's said it's all been worth it...

I swear by Asics and I use corn pads between some of the toes.  I find that leaving the strings looser towards the toes helps and with some shoe brands I need a wide size for comfort.