IPK in severe pain

by Carrie
(Trenton, OH)

age 34, good health other than high cholesterol occupation mechanic

my husband has a HUGE painful callous on the bottom of his foot(middle). His grandfather and father also have these however not as bad as my husband. He also has a hammer toe (as do the above) father had surgery to correct but problem however the callous issue was not solved.. Husband tries shaving callous and using cream (urealac 50 )w/ no relief. He has fractured his feet 3x due to walking on the sides of his feet to avoid walking on callous. The callous did go away when my husband was off of his feet when he had surgery to fix Fx .However once returning to his feet the callous came back. He also has had swelling and SEVERE pain in his knee 2x (DX as cellulitis however no cause found)that also caused severe headache and nausea .He also was seen 1x for gout (no cause found) we are urgently seeking any help or advice we can find. We have tried soaking feet, wrapping feet we have been to several podiatrists and dermatologist and a grand round at University of Cinci and all dr's are clueless as to his issues. no one has ever mentioned IPK or hammer toe causing this callous. I am wondering if there is an acid imbalance that could cause this? He has such severe pain he can not wear any of the inserts or molds made for him.

Any ideas?

Hi Carrie,
I am making the assumption that the hammertoe is the toe directly in front of the metatarsal bone that is causing the callus.
Many times when a toe is bent, as in a hammertoe deformity, it puts what is known as a retrograde pressure or downward pressure on the metatarsal bone and thus creates more pressure to the ground which creates/aggravates the callus.
In theory (and practice) correcting the hammertoe would reduce some of the downward pressure on the metatarsal and thus reduce the callus. But, like any surgery there is always the chance of surgical failure, and the callus remains.
I am surprised none of the podiatrists you have seen has offered an orthotic with a metatarsal pad or bar built into it. The purpose of the metatarsal pad or bar is to take pressure off the affected metatarsal and thus decrease the pressure of the metatarsal when it hits the ground. This might not make the callus completely disappear, but it could tremendously reduce the symptoms.
Over the years I have seen very satisfying results using this type of treatment.
You could even try one of our orthotics with a metatarsal pad that we sell on this site.
I realize I have not actually examined your husband, but this type of problem is very common and should not be creating the problems that your husband is experiencing.

Marc Mitnick DPM
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