calluses Archives - Relieve Foot Pain & Leg Pain

Festive Footwear Taking a Toll? What to Do About Corns and Calluses

Sevan — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 21:07:13 +0000

Did you have a holly and jolly holiday season? Of course you did! Dressing up in ugly christmas sweaters, fuzzy hats, warm jackets… and probably some big, clunky, narrow boots. Our main priority is keeping the feet dry in the snow, but this often makes us forget about the importance of keeping them comfortable.

As footwear is the usual perpetrator in exacerbating calluses and corns on feet, the winter footwear makes our feet take a turn for the worse. Calluses and corns are hardened areas of skin that develop when we put too much pressure on them. When this occurs on the feet, they usually get worse because we are always standing on them and give them little room for rest. For people that are especially active, this can be painful to deal with.

Some other factors to consider in callus/corn development:

Occupation and activities – such as sport or taking care of the kids
The footwear used during such occupation and activities – safety boots, cleats, etc.
The natural shape and bone structure of your foot
Gait patterns and walking cycles
Daily seated and resting positions
Underlying biological factors

Foot Corn Treatment

The immediate solution for foot corn treatment is removal. As this is just skin, it is an easy and non-invasive task to perform. However, the causative factor is the pressure. If calluses and corns on feet are removed, they often come back, as their initial purpose was to try and protect the area underneath.

The long-term solution is always going to be offloading the foot. Sometimes it is as easy as paying attention to where you are putting pressure or the way you walk. Other times, it means changing the things you use to help take the weight off. A proper shoe can help guide your foot in the right direction, but if there is significant build up under the big toe, we may need a supportive insole to take the pressure off at that very spot instead.

When to See a BioPed Clinician

Although people may try to perform their own foot corn treatment through their own removal, this can be tricky, painful, and even dangerous. Our trained Medical Footcare clinicians can easily remove the offending callus and provide relief.

Post-care, Canadian Certified Pedorthists and trained staff can identify the biomechanical factors that contribute to calluses and corns on feet, and recommend footwear, supportive devices, or even create custom foot orthoses and insoles to redirect pressure.

If this sounds like something you are struggling with, book an appointment at your nearest BioPed location today!

The post Festive Footwear Taking a Toll? What to Do About Corns and Calluses appeared first on Relieve Foot Pain & Leg Pain.

Solutions for Bunions and Clawed Toes – Toe Spacers to the Rescue!

Sevan — Fri, 17 Oct 2025 18:11:09 +0000

Foot health is often overlooked until discomfort makes it impossible to ignore. One of the most common issues people face is bunions – a bony bump that forms at the base of the big toe. Bunions can cause significant foot pain, difficulty walking, and even limit the type of shoes you can wear. Fortunately, proactive medical foot care and simple tools like toe spacers can make a meaningful difference, especially for those seeking non-surgical bunion treatment.

Understanding Bunions and Foot Pain

A bunion develops when the big toe starts to drift outwards, encroaching upon the 2nd toe. The result is a structural change in the foot that emphasizes a bony bump and makes the forefoot wider. This structural change can lead to redness, swelling, corns/calluses, and ongoing discomfort. Poor alignment due to a bunion often contributes to generalized foot pain that radiates into the arch, ankle, or even the knees.

While surgery is an option for severe cases, many people are eager to explore non-surgical bunion treatment strategies first. This is where consistent medical foot care and devices such as toe spacers come into play.

Understanding Clawed Toes and Foot Pain

Toe deformities, such as clawed or hammertoes, often cause areas of high pressure where toes rub against each other or the inside of shoes that can cause foot pain. This friction can lead to:

Interdigital corns – painful, hard lesions that form between the toes when skin is constantly pressed together.
Calluses/Other Corns – thickened skin that builds up on the tops or tips of clawed toes due to repeated shoe pressure.

What Are Toe Spacers?

Toe spacers are small, flexible devices made of silicone or gel and are designed to gently separate and then realign the toes. When worn regularly between the first and second toe for bunions, they help counteract the inward drift of the big toe and encourage healthier alignment, potentially reducing foot pain. Toe spacers are a great non-surgical treatment for bunion pain and discomfort.

While it is quite common to have a bunion and also have a clawed second toe, the pressure alone from the deviating big toe is enough to cause corns in between the toes. A toe spacer can help prevent and address these painful lesions. By keeping toes aligned, spacers lower the risk of corns forming on and in between the toes and helps to redistribute weight away from vulnerable areas where calluses often develop.

Benefits of toe spacers include:

Pressure relief: Reduces friction between the toes and the bunion joint.
Improved posture: Supports better weight distribution across the foot.
Foot pain reduction: Helps ease foot pain caused by bunions and overcrowded toes.
Preventative care: Can slow down bunion progression and reduces strain.

Combined with regular medical foot care — such as professional debridement of corns, advice on footwear, orthotics and stretching exercises — toe spacers become a simple but effective tool to prevent corn recurrence, address bunion changes and relieve foot pain.

The option of utilizing toe spacers supports non-surgical bunion treatment, giving patients a way to manage symptoms and improve foot pain without painful invasive procedures.

When to Seek Professional Care

While toe spacers are safe for most people, it’s important to consult a trained professional if you have persistent foot pain, advanced bunions, recurring interdigital corns, or painful calluses from clawed toes. A professional assessment ensures that you receive a treatment plan tailored to your specific needs. Want to learn more? Be sure to book an assessment with the Chiropodist or Pedorthist at your local BioPed clinic and start treating your foot pain now.

The post Solutions for Bunions and Clawed Toes – Toe Spacers to the Rescue! appeared first on Relieve Foot Pain & Leg Pain.

How Can A Chiropodist or Footcare Nurse help me with my feet?

BioPed Footcare — Wed, 03 May 2023 17:00:58 +0000

If you’re experiencing common painful foot conditions like plantar fasciitis, bunions, or flat feet, a Registered Chiropodist can help you in many ways! However, if you are struggling with more skin and nail-related concerns, such as ingrown toenails, calluses, corns, or warts, seek the expertise of a Registered Chiropodist or an Advanced Footcare Nurse.

But when should you opt for a chiropodist vs a footcare nurse?

In simple terms, choose a BioPed Registered Chiropodist when you require orthotics, a prescription (for medicine or orthotics, shoes or bracing), have an infection, have a foot wound, may require surgery or numbing (by injection), or are neuropathic (have little to no sensation in your feet). Chiropodists can prescribe oral and topical medications and administer injections into the feet. They can also offer surgeries on skin and toenails.

An Advanced Footcare Nurse provides trimming for calluses, corns, thick or ingrown toenails, and treatment for foot warts. They perform most of the same skin and toenail treatments as a Chiropodist, except for surgeries, injections and prescriptions.

If you are suffering from any of the following conditions, then medical footcare at BioPed is the right service for you!

Fungal toenails

Fungal nails can be thick, misshapen, discoloured, crumbly and smelly. They can occur on the big or small toes and are treated with regular debridement, topical or oral antifungal medications.

For topical solutions to be effective, the nail must be thin enough for the treatment to penetrate to the nail bed where the fungus resides. A Chiropodist or Footcare Nurse can significantly reduce the thickness of the nail plate. If necessary, a Chiropodist can remove the nail plate altogether.

Ingrown toenails

A painful toenail border (or edge) due to the nail growing into the soft tissue is considered an “ingrown toenail.”

You may experience pain when the nails are significantly curved or when a spike of a nail punctures the skin at the side of the nail. Ingrown toenails usually respond well to correct nail cutting techniques, properly fitted footwear and patient education.

BioPed Chiropodists and Footcare Nurses can opt to apply a toenail brace, which helps alleviate pressure at the sides and retrains the nail edges to grow straighter. Registered Chiropodists can also perform toenail avulsions to remove the offending nail edge and prevent a recurrence.

Corns & calluses

Corns and calluses appear as thickened skin on the bottom or tops of the feet and in between the toes.

Corns and calluses can be painful because of the high pressure or friction caused when skin builds up in local area. To offset the pain in the feet, a person might alter how they walk, creating other issues, such as knee pain.

BioPed Chiropodists and Footcare Nurses will trim corns and calluses and recommend a topical moisture regime that will help with hard and dry skin. Chiropodists can also prescribe custom foot orthotics, which can correct gait and offload high-pressure areas, reducing the corn / callus pain and need to return for frequent trimming. BioPed clinicians can also recommend properly fitted footwear appropriate for specific activities and your foot type, to increase comfort and function.

Plantar warts

Plantar warts are found most commonly on the bottom of our feet and are contagious.

Warts have a cauliflower-like texture, black dots centrally, and are usually painful when lateral pressure is applied. They are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) and can be challenging to cure.

Registered Chiropodists and Advanced Footcare Nurses will debride wart tissue to allow chosen treatments to work better. This could include topical solutions such as salicylic acid and Cantharidin. In addition to conservative treatments, Chiropodists can also perform wart needling and wart excision.

Toe deformities

Hammertoes, claw toes and mallet toes are all forms of toe “deformities”. They refer to toes that bend at one or both toe joints, creating a toe that is not straight. They can cause calluses, corns, pain, and discomfort, making finding the right footwear a seemingly impossible task.

To address toe deformities, a silicone sleeve may be recommended, or Chiropodists can make a custom toe prop, which can help straighten the toes and prevent rubbing, when weight-bearing. BioPed clinicians will also address any calluses or corns that have arisen due to the toe deformity and makes recommendations for footwear.

Diabetes & foot health

People who have diabetes are more susceptible to infection, cold feet and other complications, such as peripheral neuropathy. To ensure proper foot health is maintained, BioPed Chiropodists and Footcare Nurses will perform routine nail and skin care. Diabetic Risk Assessments are 3-minute evaluations performed in clinic to determine a person’s risk for foot complications. Following this evaluation, the clinician will provide education on how to inspect feet at home in between appointments to ensure they stay healthy.

Biomechanical treatment

Registered Chiropodists are trained in assessing gait (walking pattern/style) and the quality of movement of the foot and lower limb joints and muscles. Depending on the lower body mechanics, a Chiropodist may prescribe custom foot orthotics to correct alignment and/or provide protection to the foot or improve the way someone walks or runs.

Whether you’re an elite athlete, a recreational runner or just someone who wants to stay active and healthy, a BioPed Chiropodist can help you move better and more efficiently, which can prevent injury and alleviate discomfort.

How do I book an appointment?

BioPed Registered Chiropodists and Advanced Footcare Nurses can help improve your foot health and comfort, alleviate foot pain, and get you back to doing more of what you love in life.

Contact your local BioPed and schedule an appointment to find out how a Registered Chiropodist or Advanced Footcare Nurse can help you today!

The post How Can A Chiropodist or Footcare Nurse help me with my feet? appeared first on Relieve Foot Pain & Leg Pain.

Diabetic Nail & Skin Care at BioPed Footcare

BioPed Footcare — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 10:41:55 +0000

Diabetes is a condition whereby the body does not make insulin or has trouble recognizing it. Insulin is crucial for storing food sugars. With diabetes, the sugars are not stored properly and remain at high levels in the blood stream. This can lead to damaged nerves and it’s the smallest (in our fingers and feet) to be affected first. We call this “neuropathy.”

Precautions for diabetic nail and skin care

The biggest concern with neuropathy is that it causes a loss of sensation. But, did you know that this loss of feeling typically happens later in the disease process? The early signs of nerve damage are actually dry skin and thick, brittle nails.

If you are diabetic, it is important to visit with a Chiropodist or Foot Care Nurse regularly for skin and nail care. They will pick up on these subtle indicators and alert your family Doctor or Nurse Practitioner when something is wrong before it’s too late. The best medicine for diabetic foot problems is prevention!

Treatment for diabetic nail and skin care

If you have calluses, cracks, fissures, warts or corns on your feet and you are diabetic, you should never use an off-the-shelf drugstore medication without first consulting a medical professional. These skin troubles put diabetics at risk for infection, wounds and amputation and should be taken very seriously. At BioPed, we carry diabetic friendly skin and nail products to help keep your nails healthy and your skin soft and free of fungus.

If your toenails have become too thick to trim yourself or have begun to dig into the border, it is time to visit with a BioPed Chiropodist or Foot Care Nurse for assistance. No referral is needed and your family Doctor will be happy to see you being proactive.

Knock your socks off today with a BioPed Footcare Nurse or Chiropodist.

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