Chiropody
Corns Callouses and Hard Skin
Hardened areas on the foot can be symptomatic of other problems in your lower body. Although they may seem like minor ailments, it’s important to get a thorough assessment of your foot, shoes, gait and the mechanics of your lower body if you have any of the following:
Hard skin / Calluses
Calluses are the thickening of the skin due to pressure (called hyperkeratosis). They can occur over bony prominence, on the ball of the foot or on the heel, often because of prolonged standing and may result in chronic pain. A callous appears as yellow or dark brown discoloured skin. It usually feels painful when you put pressure on it.
Some of the causes of hard skin or calluses include running for long periods of time, inappropriate running shoes, mal-alignment of the metatarsal bones (bunions), flat or high arched feet and abnormalities of the mechanics of the lower limb.
Treatment
By using our diagnostic methods and examining your running shoes, we will be able to advise you how to tackle the causes of hard skin. If you have poor foot function (such as over-pronation), we will recommend and fit orthotics. If your shoes are ill-fitting or not sufficient at shock absorption, we will advise you on the kind of running shoes you will need. We will also give advice on treating the hard skin itself.
Corns
A corn is a localised thickening of the skin due to pressure. Corns often occur on the top of the toes where there is pressure from the shoes, but they also occur at the sole of the foot and in between toes. Corns can be very painful, especially if there is inflammation and swelling around the corn.
They can be caused by an abnormal gait (walking or running) as well as through poorly fitting shoes – too tight being the most obvious, but too loose can also lead to the friction that creates corns, plus, seams that rub against a certain point of the foot.
Treatment
Once we have diagnosed a corn, we may carry out a gait analysis to find out if your foot function is causing the corns to form. If this is the case, we may recommend footwear and/or orthotics to ease the situation.
We will advise you on ways to relieve the corns yourself, with pumice stones, silicone pads and foot creams. We do not recommend using corn plasters, as they can lead to destruction of healthy skin.
