Hallux valgus

Item: Hallux Valgus
Rating: 4.8
Author: Atlantomed

People who return to our centres for a second session after 5-8 weeks usually report changes in different areas of their body. Occasionally, the problem of hallux valgus was also mentioned. Some people said that the pain, which used to increase year after year, was now disappearing and they had the impression that their big toe was becoming straighter again.

At first we thought that this was just a coincidence and that the person had "imagined" an improvement in their bunion, caught up in the euphoria of the positive changes that had taken place over the past few weeks - in other words, a placebo effect. For this reason, we did not initially attach much importance to such stories.

However, as more and more people reported positive changes in their big toe, we began to suspect that there might be some truth to their claims and began to search for the truth. We began to methodically note down anyone suffering from hallux valgus, which was easy enough, because when we take postural photos on the SpineLine rotating platform, we are only a short distance from the subject's feet.

So we started systematically asking them in the second session whether they had noticed any changes in their hallux valgus. Often the answer was "now that you mention it... actually thinking about it... I don't have any more pain, I didn't even notice it".

We are well aware that the appearance of a new pain is felt immediately, whereas the moment when the discomfort disappears goes unnoticed, especially if it occurs sporadically. We simply do not notice it anymore and forget about it.

It is only by analytically bringing to mind how we felt months ago that we become aware of the change that has taken place. We see this phenomenon happen again and again, when the person treated returns to us at the second session and fills in the Atlantomed form again with the frequency and intensity of their complaints.

After looking at the boxes on the form that he had ticked weeks ago before the treatment, he realises that this or that ailment from which he was suffering has disappeared or improved.

The mind tends to avoid pain, which is why we quickly forget about it as soon as the problem is resolved. Just as quickly, once they have solved their problems, people forget about us and what we have done for them. If YOU do not spread the method, talking about your success, after all previous treatments had failed, who should? Perhaps the doctor who sees us as a smokescreen, since we make him lose patients and make him look bad?

PRIMA

DOPO

Those who never seem to forget us, even after years, are the people who unfortunately did not benefit from the proposed treatment. They never miss a chance to point out the failure. This kind of attitude shows that they do not understand how the body works, nor the purpose of the treatment, which is to correct the position of the Atlas vertebra and not to "cure" individual complaints, as is explained as clearly as possible on the page "Who is the Atlantomed treatment for? I wonder if they are also in the habit of complaining to their doctor every time the drugs prescribed by him have failed to solve the problem, i.e. every time they have caused side effects. But that's another story.

Back to the bunion. Careful observation and analysis has led us to realise that people with hallux valgus problems have a common characteristic. If you photograph them from the side, you see that their weight is invariably unbalanced forwards!

The centre of gravity of their body is shifted to the front, so when they stand up, instead of the weight falling on the heel, it falls on the front of the foot, overloading it. In the long term, this chronic postural imbalance continually subjects the big toe to an unnatural load, which after years can lead to the so-called hallux valgus. The joint swells and unfortunately often deforms in an attempt to adapt to the increased load, with all the negative consequences that this entails.

During a search for scientific articles on the subject of hallux valgus, we came across an Italian scientific study that confirms our observation. 120 people were measured with a stabilometric scale that allows us to see exactly how the weight is distributed on the sole of the foot.

The study shows that people with hallux valgus exert more pressure on the medial sides and the front of both feet in both static and dynamic situations than people without hallux valgus.

After correction of the Atlas with the Atlantomed method, a general improvement in posture is often observed. In the specific case of hallux valgus, people appear statically more upright when seen from the side, with a more backward and natural centre of gravity than before. This new posture reduces the constant overloading of the front part of the foot and consequently the hallux valgus benefits, being able to reverse its painful and inevitable course towards surgery.

We would like to emphasise that misalignment of the Atlas is not the only possible cause of hallux valgus. The postural imbalance described above can also be the result of cranio-mandibular dysfunction or wide or flat feet. The problem of hallux valgus is often the sum of several concomitant factors. In many cases, however, a dysfunction of the Atlas has proven to be the determining factor.

What is hallux valgus or oblique big toe position?

Hallux valgus is the most common foot deformity and occurs about 9 times more often in women than in men. It is a misalignment of the big toe, resulting in deformation and possible thickening of the metatarsophalangeal joint of the big toe. It is also possible that a claw toe conformation is created.

Hallux valgus usually occurs in old age. However, recent studies show that an early stage of hallux valgus can be detected in susceptible individuals as early as 14 years of age.

This shows the long time it takes for a postural alteration to cause visible damage.

In the early stages, hallux valgus is primarily just a cosmetic problem. But if the cause is not eliminated, the problem gets worse and worse. A hallux valgus can develop into a hallux rigidus, with arthrosis in the metatarsophalangeal joint of the big toe.

A hallux valgus in an advanced state of deformity often requires surgical correction, with all the consequences and risks that surgery entails, with healing times that last for months. Do you simply want to do nothing and wait for an operation to become inevitable? Would it not be advisable to intervene preventively on the posture, intervening on the Atlas and if necessary on the jaw, already in childhood?

Consequences of a hallux valgus:

Pain in the metacarpophalangeal joint when rolling the foot and when wearing tight shoes.
Irritation of the skin and inflammation of the underlying membrane, bacterial inflammation due to open skin areas.
Increasing deviation of the big toe can lead to deformation of the toes, especially the 2nd and 3rd toes.
Changes in gait pattern due to postural compensation against pain leading to overloading of other muscle chains and joints of the spine.

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Hallux valgus and postural compensation (103KB)