A widespread disorder especially in the female population, kotsi - also popularly referred to as "onion" - is caused by the internal swelling of the first and largest toe. This deformation manifests itself with the progressive displacement of the big toe towards the illyx, the second toe, which in turn tends to deviate from its axis towards the outside and in this twist it also brings the other toes behind it. In the most serious cases, in fact, the entire forefoot appears out of axis. In practice, there is a pathological angle of the big toe, which tends to become inflamed. The age of onset of the disorder is commonly between 40 and 60 years of age.
The symptoms are essentially represented by pain, of variable intensity, initially associated with redness of the part with bursitis, inflammation similar to a "soft" callus. When the joint is severely compromised and the "onion" protrudes very clearly, the pain becomes constant, and tends to radiate from the local osteo-articular region affected by the deformity to the whole foot up to the leg and going to trigger functional alterations in the knee and hip joints.
Not just pain, hallux valgus brings with it other symptoms that make walking difficult and complicated, including edema, tingling, a sense of fatigue in both the foot and leg, postural problems and difficulty wearing closed shoes. It should be noted that the problem is often symmetrical in both limbs, although not with the same degree of severity. Therefore, a big toe that appears swollen, which progressively tends to move laterally, must lead to an immediate check in the first instance by your general practitioner, and secondly by an orthopedic specialist, before the bunion becomes chronic and the crest of the bone pushes more and more outwards with calcification of the deformation.
The rapidity of the intervention allows to stem the problem before it becomes seriously disabling, thus managing to avoid the surgical intervention which is instead necessary in more serious cases. But let's see why and how bunions are formed, and what are the risk factors.
