Foot corn after ankle fracture

by Liz
(Perth, Western Australia)

Hi, when I was 7 years old, I fractured my left ankle after falling from a tree. A few years later, I developed a corn on the same foot. I've been treated on several occasions by many different doctors, but the corn has never gone away and it's so painful! It's been 21 years since I fractured my ankle, but the corn seems to be getting worse and Im in so much pain when I put any weight on that foot. What should I do? Thanks, Liz..

Foot Corn

A foot corn is an area of thickened skin or hyperkeratosis caused by pressure on the affected area. Common areas for corns include the toes, ball of foot and ankle area. The corn can become inflamed and also infected due to trauma from friction when walking. It can cause considerable pain and needs to be addressed.

The main treatment is to relieve the pressure on the area and your fracture has caused this through a degree of deformity. There are a couple of options of dealing with this.

The only way of dealing with this properly is to see a chiropodist who can deal with the corn and to make sure that you have properly fitting footwear. There are corn protectors, but the issue with you is the deformed ankle rubbing against the corn.

Corn pads can provide some help by taking some of the pressure off the foot corn, but the only proper way of dealing with this is to see a professional as above. I cant overemphasise the importance of having good fitting shoes and I would strongly advise getting your feet measured properly. A surgical fitter may be able to help you with shoe inserts that protect the displaced ankle and its worth asking your doctor to refer you to your local surgical fitter.