My mother had bunions and they were awful. I think I may be starting them myself, even though I take good care of my feet. Is there anything I can do to stop them from forming?

It turns out that your family history plays a larger role in developing bunions (called hallux valgus by doctors) than does the type of shoe you wear or what type of job you do. In one recent study, which looked at women in Hong Kong, researchers found that most women who had bunions didn’t wear heels very often but did have other family members who also had bunions.

If you want to see if you can prevent bunions from forming, you may want to speak with your doctor to see if shoe inserts or some type of therapy may be helpful for you.