What to do if the shoe pinches?
Buying new shoes doesn't always help. If insoles and shoe adjustments are no longer sufficient, there are still a number of orthopedic-surgical options.

A common ailment, especially affecting women, is the deformed big toe called "Hallux valgus". The resulting so-called "frost ball", a protruding first metatarsal head, can make walking and wearing some shoes painful. There are already standardized surgical methods against this ailment. The first metatarsal must be straightened out again. Bone healing takes approx. 4-5 weeks as long as a relief shoe is to be worn. The effort is rewarded with a straight toe and walking without pain. The same procedure is used for other forefoot complaints, such as painful hammer toes and splayfeet: the deformed bone is brought into the correct position. Modern titanium implants, which no longer have to be removed, enable stable, gentle surgical correction.
New orthopedic-surgical methods allow pain relief not only on the forefoot, but also on the metatarsus. For damaged ankles, apart from orthopedic shoes, only joint stiffening remained the method of choice. The joint endoscopy now allows cartilage therapy, and functioning joint prostheses are now also available for the upper ankle.
The same applies to some forms of flat foot. In the early stages, a good functional improvement can be achieved through bone and soft tissue correction. As with many diseases, timely diagnosis is often critical to functional recovery.