FootSmart Bunion Regulator, LEFT W5-8.5/M5-5.5

This product is pretty nice. It does pull the big toe away slightly from the other toes..sometimes at a cost. I found three issues with it that unfortunately mean I can't use it anymore.1- if your toe leans fairly far to the right, the device needs to be fastened pretty tight in order to keep the big toe away from the other toes (so it is straighter). You have to make it pretty tight, and by the middle of the night, it hurts a lot. It is like falling asleep with a hairband around your wrist. I would wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and realized what was once comfortable tightness when falling asleep now hurt a lot, and my big toe was red and the skin around the side of my foot was blistering. So the device has to be pretty tight depending on your bunion. Mine isn't terrible, but it required the device be pretty tight.2- The pad that holds the inside of your big toe and pushes it out: this pad thingy pushes the inside of the toenail as well. Similarly, I would put it on at night and wake up in the middle of the night, to the inside of my big toenail having blisters from the padding pushing on the side of the toenail. It actually had three small under-the-skin blisters on it. So I had to take the device off completely and go back to bed. I had trouble wearing any shoes for a week until the blisters healed. So again, the positioning of the device may vary per foot - but if it is anything more than just slightly fastened loosely, I noticed the inner part of the big toe including the inside area of the big toenail, don't stand up well to the pressure and blister up and it just plain hurts.3- for same reasons above, if you also have a hammertoe or anything else, this is not the best option out there. The big toe rest part of the device, will certainly dig into the inner part of the second toe, and it too will develop blisters overnight and will hurt a lot.This is only a good device for those who have a very-very mild case of bunion, and no other issues, no hammertoes nothing else. The design is dependent on not needing you to make it too tight, so the toe cannot lean inward too far from the start. It is also expecting that the other toes are in the right place. BUT, if you meet this criteria, I think the design is pretty nice.

My foot pain began in February. It was most severe when I was doing push-ups and the plank as these exercises flex your toes. Snowboarding on my toe edge exasperated the pain. I knew I had a chronic problem when the pain persisted beyond my toes being flexed. My pain was so bad it hurt to put any weight at all on the ball of my foot. I wanted to avoid surgery so I purchased this as well as the Wheaton Bunion Brace, HealthyToes Toe Stretchers, and silicone toe spacers. The Wheaton brace cut off circulation to my big toe and could only be worn for a few minutes. The silicone toe spacers didn't stay put. The toe stretchers made my feet feel wonderful, but can only be worn for short periods of time and are tricky to walk in. This night splint is now the only consistent tool I've used. I put it on just as I go to bed and take it off in the morning. I have it set very loosely. This way my toenail isn't being squeezed against the side of my toe (which is an unpleasant thing to wake up to). I've been using this splint every night for a month now and the pain is barely noticeable. I'm hoping I'll be totally pain free by snowboard season. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is the material is pretty cheap and was probably manufactured for about 2 cents. But, it's a lot less expensive than surgery!

I ordered this product because other reviews were so positive.....I guess I have been using it for about 3 weeks now. I wear it every night - sometimes I use it daytime, too, if I'm home. I should have traced my foot before I started...so that I could track improvement. So far, I'm not convinced. It may be working; but, if it is, it will take a while. It is certainly not an overnight fix. I really want it to work, so I'll keep wearing it for at least another month or two. I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I really want to be able to buy shoes I like and have them fit and be comfortable.

I have bunions on both feet. My right is worse than my left. I have always opted for very comfortable shoes, which has probably helped minimize pain to this point in my life, but I knew it was time to seek a remedy because starting about 6 months ago they have started to bother me even when I am not wearing shoes. As for the product: I only purchased one for the right foot to test this bunion regulator out, since the reviews were mixed and I had never tried anything like it before. But, this works far better than I had hoped. I wear it only to bed (overnight) and even put on a sock over it because my feet are always cold. I can not walk in it at all (too uncomfortable), but I don't deny that some people could maybe do so. Everyone's feet are different. My perfect shoe size is a 7.5W (only wide BECAUSE of the bunions, however), so maybe that tells you something about the fit. It fits my foot perfectly and truly relieves the bunion pressure. After only 4 nights, I can honestly say that my right foot now is more comfortable during the day than my left foot. The device looks exactly as depicted. Of course it is overpriced for what it is (plastic, some foam padding and some velcro), but unless you are going to make your own, I think it is worth it.