Treatment of Corns and Calluses

What is a Corn or Callus, and How Do They Develop?

Today, we’re going to talk about corns and calluses, a very common problem. Corns and calluses are simply thickening of the skin.  It’s the body’s response to increased pressure, trying to protect that body part from this pressure.  But often, that callus or corn gets so thick that it itself becomes very painful.  An example is hammertoes, when the toes start to curl up and rub in a shoe.  We’ve discussed hammertoes in another video. Hammertoes often develop a corn or callus.  A corn is a thickening of the skin on the toe, and a callus is the thickening of the skin usually on bottom of the foot, underneath the ball of the foot, and that can occur if there is a bone that sticks down just a little bit more than its neighbor and you’re getting just a little more pressure in one spot.  

Treatment Options

The conservative answer to the problem is to do some trimming on that corn or callus.  Trimming often makes it feel much better, and then we look at what we can do to alleviate that pressure.  Is there something that we can do to change the shoe or to balance the foot?  We’ll talk about proper shoe gear and what we can put inside the shoe, such as an insole or orthotic to balance those pressures and relieve that pain.  

In some extreme cases, we need to do some surgical procedures to help balance the foot.

There are lots of options for corns and calluses, and if you’re having trouble with those, give us a call and we’ll get it fixed!