Pretty much the only way to get rid of bunions is with surgery. There really is no non-surgical alternative to get rid of bunions. You can come across a number of claims on the web on how to get rid of bunions without surgery. None of them stack up to scrutiny. You can always try them and see that they do not work.
Having said that, the enlargement of the first metatarsophalangeal joint that is part of the bunion is largely bone, but there can be a soft tissue bursa over the enlarged joint. It is possible to reduce any swelling in that bursa using padding and other pressure reliving means, such as wider footwear and that may lead to some improvement in the size of the bunion if an enlarged bursa is the reason for a larger part of the prominence.
Additionally, the bunion corrector night splints have been shown in one study to improve the angle of the big toe on average a few degrees after a few months of use. There is no research if that improvement lasts if the bunion corrector’s use is discontinued or if there is greater improvement with longer use. However, a small improvement in the angle of the big toe may make a big difference to the symptoms, but it does not necessarily get rid of bunions.
While surgery is probably the only real option to get rid of bunions, there is plenty that can be done to help the symptoms such as exercise, better fitting shoes, correctors and splints and protective padding.
