Calluses - To Trim Or Not to Trim

A callus on the heel or the big toe can causes plenty of pain for a runner. It could develop a far more painful blister underneath and will limit a runner's performance or just reduce the enjoyment of run. Many runners desire to have a razor blade to the callus tissue and trim it down before skin is raw. Some rub the callus with a pumice stone until their hand goes numb among others apply expensive creams and lotions. But, regardless of what you do, somehow, the callus always comes home.

Callus tissue is really a build of dead skin in reaction to pressure or friction. The medical term for callus is hyperkeratosis (hi - per - care - uh - toe - sis). A callus is truly a bone problem and a foot mechanics problem, not just a problem. A foot deformity may cause excess pressure compared to that area from the shoe or the bottom. Your body's natural defense mechanism will activate and start accumulating the very best layer of skin in reaction to the surplus pressure. This can be a protective response from your body so that they can avoid the pressure from wearing down your skin layers and leading to an open sore. The thing is that provided that there's pressure, your body will continue steadily to build up your skin. The continual build-up of dead skin may become excessive and painful.

In runners, the most typical places for callus buildup are in the within of the heel, the region round the big toe and the ball of the foot. Calluses can appear together with the toes or among the toes. In such cases, the callus tissue is named a corn. The calluses could be thickened, dry, scaly, yellow, red, tender and also flakey. Runners are a lot more vunerable to the development of callus tissue due to the quantity of stress, pressure and repetitive micro-trauma their feet endure.

The initial step to treatment is learning the reason for the callus. Are you experiencing a foot deformity? Are you experiencing a bunion or perhaps a hammertoe? Any kind of deformity that rubs on the shoe can lead to callus formation. Are you experiencing abnormal mechanics? For instance, pronation. If the feet roll in excessively, it's quite common to possess callus development at the within of the heel and at the big toe. Are you experiencing ill-fitting shoes? Without abnormal mechanics or perhaps a foot deformity, an ill-fitting shoe could cause rubbing and irritation. A shoe too tight at the toe area may cause callus formation on the tiny toe and the big toe. If the heel section of the shoe is too loose and the heel is slipping, callus development may appear behind the heel.

After the problem is identified, the initial step would be to treat the reason. This is simply not always possible. It isn't recommended to surgically correct a bunion due to an annoying callus. You need to find shoes to support any foot deformities, and make certain all jogging shoes fit correctly. A lot of people wear shoes which certainly are a half a size too small, ensure that your shoes will be the proper size. Also, place your submit your running footwear to check out lumps and bumps, regions of thickened stitching or gluing. These things might lead to excess pressure and callus development. Avoid cotton socks and be sure you have socks which wick moisture. Consider buying socks manufactured from acrylic, polypropylene or small fiber wool. Cotton socks lose their shape when moist and have a tendency to fold and bunch easily, adding to both callus and blister development. If you feel your have abnormal rotation in the feet, search for a podiatrist and see if you want a set of tailor made orthotics. Can't afford custom orthotics? Get one of these couple of sport orthotics from your own local shoe store. These pre-fabricated sport orthotics might help control motion and decrease callus development.

After the problem is identified and either accommodated or eliminated, it's time to direct focus on the callus itself. It isn't recommended to trim calluses yourself. Large, hard calluses or calluses with painful cores (termed intractable plantar keratosis - IPK) ought to be trimmed by way of a podiatrist. It isn't essential to have all calluses trimmed. Handful of callus is protective to your skin and the bony areas it really is covering. Cutting, trimming and shaving this tissue is recommended if you find tenderness, surrounding redness, a core or perhaps a history of blister formation in your community. Even then, the callus shouldn't be trimmed down completely, a little layer ought to be left for protection. If the callus will not cause pain, isn't red, isn't tender and doesn't hinder performance, leave it alone. Remember, the callus will there be because of excess pressure or friction and when this pressure isn't identified and handled, even with trimming, the callus will return.

To help keep callus tissue down, try creams with salicyclic acid or exfoliators designed for callus tissue. Should you choose work with a pumice stone, utilize it daily. A monthly, aggressive pumicing might just irritate the encompassing tissue and you may not likely make much progress or reduce the callus thickness.

Identifying the reason and minimizing the pressure, in conjunction with the usage of a pumice stone and callus reducing cream regularly, will give the very best results.