Lee Macholz is one of our 2018/2019 RErun ambassadors. She is a stud! After work and family time, she still manages to volunteer and/or run many events through Runners Edge and Run Wild Missoula. Bunions effect many people around Missoula and the world and they can be very irritating when wear or buying shoes. We brought in a Bunion Relief sock and asked Lee to review our new product. Her thoughts below…
OS1st Bunion Relief Socks
I have to say, I really like these socks. I can’t tell you first-hand if they relieve the pain of a bunion, but I did a little research and here is what learned. 
Bunions develop slowly over time, so while I don’t have one now, I can see by the shape of my foot that the potential is there for one to develop. A bunion is a bony bump on the inside of your foot at the joint of your big toe. They develop when there is regular pressure on the big toe that causes it to lean toward the second toe. As such, I can see how this could be an issue for runners! I think that recent shoe design can help prevent bunions
as we are seeing wide toe boxes in many shoe styles, but can these socks help as well?
Fit: There are two elements to this sock that I think would be beneficial for treating / preventing bunions. First, the Bunion Relief Socks are designed with a split toe. I’ve never worn a split toe sock before and so it was pretty weird at first. But, I can see how this design relieves the sideways pressure on your big toe that you could get in a regular sock, especially a compressive one. I liked that my big toe could move more freely and I could feel the difference. The second element to this sock that is specific for a person with a bunion is the padded area at the joint of the big toe. It is a softer,
thicker area that fits just right and would provide nice padding to a painful bunion. Moving up the foot, the sock has good compression over the rest of the foot that results in a high performance and very comfortable fit. I like the height of the sock as well – though I am partial to a quarter-height sock.
Performance: I have been running in these socks through January and February in Montana – it is snowy and it is cold. I usually like a taller sock in the winter so my ankles don’t get cold or wet, but as a quarter-height design, these socks have been just high enough. I am not sure if it is the material, or the split toe design, or both but I find these socks to be on the warm side. Which is perfect in the winter, though I likely won’t wear them much in the summer for this reason, we’ll see. I have been washing and wearing them regularly and they are holding up really well. The compression zones are just enough to feel good, but not so much that they cut off my circulation.
Bottom Line: While I can’t speak to the pain relieve side of the equation. I do think that the split toe design and extra padding on these socks will help prevent / ease the symptoms of a bunion. Bottom line is that once I got used to the split toe, I like them and will keep them handy!
