Do toe spacers help with bunions?

“Separators can genuinely help with the symptoms,” Dr. Laurino says. They can help ease that achy, crowded feeling and provide relief by stretching the tight tissue along the big toe’s joint.

“What they cannot do is reverse the bunion itself. A bunion is a structural shift in the bone and joint, and no silicone gadget pulls bone back into place,” he explains.

Beyond bunions, toe separators can also “be useful for early hammertoes that are still flexible, for that pinched feeling between the toes some people get from neuromas, and simply for feet that have spent forty years in narrow shoes.”

So, are toe spacers a scam? Not necessarily.

“They work for what they actually are: a stretching and comfort tool,” explains Dr. Laurino. “Used regularly, many people get real relief from crowding, aching, and tightness, and there’s decent reasoning behind using them to keep flexible deformities from stiffening up.”

However, if you’re expecting toe separators to reverse bunions or straighten out toes for good, you’ll be disappointed by the lack of results.

Ultimately, Dr. Laurino says: “buy them for relief, not for correction.”