Bunions are an enlargement of the great toe or hallux joint of the foot and are frequently related to what is known as hallux valgus that is a deviation of the big toe towards the outside. They may or may not be painful, however the potential for them to be painful is high. For that reason prevention and therapy is typically warranted. They actually tend to be progressive and get worse with time. Really the only way to get rid of them is with surgery, but that's not always a good option initially. One of many ways in which they may be dealt with is with what is known as bunion correctors, however they are usually accompanied by the question, would they work? They are splints or braces used during the night to try and correct the angle of big toe to improve its appearance.
A great deal is determined by what is meant by “working”. There's a lot of thoughts and opinions as to them both working and not working with very little scientific research. There exists one published study that did demonstrate that the angle of the great toe can be improved by a few degrees after one months use, however this was not research of any longer than that one month. Thus, yes, it does look like that bunion correctors can work in the short term at improving the angle of the hallux valgus or bunion a few degrees.
Apart from that study just about all we can depend on is expert thoughts and opinions. The majority of that opinion on bunion correctors is in keeping with that research study. Nevertheless, it also appears that even if the use of the bunion corrector does not improve the angle of the great toe or hallux or just improves it a tiny amount, it can be feasible that the corrector will go a long way to preventing the problem from becoming worse. That's important as bunions are progressive. The splint may also be very useful at mobilizing the ligaments surrounding the joint and that could be useful with pain within the joint.