Hilarie: We don’t envy Posh her bunion

Feb 20 2010 by Hilarie Stelfox, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

EVER since someone noticed that the haughtily elegant Victoria Beckham had a bunion, the trashier newspapers and magazines have been awash with gleeful stories about her deformed foot.

There’s no doubt about it, bunions are pretty ugly – and I speak as someone who has, I suspect, the start of one. And the fact that someone so perfectly coiffured, manicured, young and, let’s not beat about the bush, thin, possesses such a thing is an open invitation for us to indulge in extreme schadenfreude.

Posh’s bunion pronounces her human, fallible and just a teensy bit ugly. It’s all most welcome to those of us with so many imperfections we don’t know where to start listing them.

However, the many column inches devoted to Victoria’s bunion frequently blame the singer’s penchant for Jimmy Choos and Manolo Blahniks. She is rarely seen without a teetering pair of skyscraper stilettos. Look, scream the headlines, silly shoes have given her a bunion. She’s a fashion victim.

But, if the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists is to be believed – and its members should know what they’re talking about – bunions are not caused by the wearing of six-inch heels.

Recent research by the society has revealed that 15% of women suffer from bunions and they are most often caused by a defective mechanical structure of the foot, which is genetic.

So Posh would have developed her bunions without any help from Jimmy Choo.

But – and here’s the good bit – she’s certainly not helping herself by continuing to wear vertiginous heels so we can look forward to more bunion pictures to browse while in the hairdresser’s chair.

According to the society, wearing shoes that squeeze the forefoot, crowding the toes together, can exacerbate the underlying condition, causing pain and deformity of the joint (known as Hallux Vagus). Although some treatments can ease the pain of bunions, only surgery can correct the defect.

Podiatrist Lorraine Jones says: “While shoes do not cause bunions they can aggravate the problem, so if you’ve noticed a bump developing where your big toe joins the foot, it may be time to switch your footwear. Try to opt for wider shoes that provide your toes with room to move and keep your heel height to no more than 4cm for maximum comfort.’’

You have been warned.