Feet First Clinic specializes in the treatment of acute and chronic conditions that affect the toes, feet, and ankles.
Don’t underestimate the importance of foot care. After all, your feet help you get from point A to point B and provide you with essential support. There’s a lot riding on your feet and a lot that can go wrong with them.
We specialize in feet, whether you need a one-time treatment or ongoing foot pain management. Our treatments and products help acute and chronic foot disorders that affect both foot and lower limb functions.
A corn is an area of hardened skin that develops on areas of the feet that sustain too much compression. Corns can develop on weightbearing areas of the feet or areas that don’t bear weight, such as on or in between the toes. Corns are often caused by ill-fitting footwear repeatedly rubbing against the toes.
What Are The Symptoms Of Corns?
Symptoms of a foot corn include:
Corns can be removed during an appointment with one of our foot specialists or chiropodists who will safely remove the build-up of tissue and assess whether orthopedic shoes or custom orthotics may be indicated to prevent their recurrence.
To schedule best foot care treatment with our licensed Chiropodists (foot specialists), use the booking form below or call 416-769-FEET(3338).
Our Toronto foot clinic is open Monday-Friday 10am-7pm, Saturdays 10am-4pm. You do not need a referral to become a patient at our Foot clinic.
Certain risk factors may increase your chances of developing corns:
Corns are more common in individuals who have:
How Do I Prevent Corns?
The best way to prevent corns is to exercise proper foot care solutions which can be explained thoroughly with a foot specialist or Chiropodist. Properly fitted and custom orthotics and also accomplish significant difference in preventing corns.
A bunion, medically known as hallux valgus, is an angular boney protrusion that forms at the site of the large joint that connects your big toe to your foot. This joint, called the first metatarsophalangeal joint (or MTP joint for short), is a critical junction of bones, tendons, and ligaments that bear much of our weight when we’re on our feet: it carries up to 60% of our body weight when walking and up to 3X our body weight when jogging or running.
If an abnormality develops in the joint, the bones of the big toe and foot can deviate from proper alignment and create the characteristic angular protrusion that juts out from the base of the big toe.
Bunions are extremely prevalent: up to one in three people over the age of 18 have bunions and are more common in women.
Bunions are a progressive disorder that develop slowly over time. The earliest symptom is the gradual inward deviation of the big toe toward the other toes. As the foot condition advances you may experience:
Bunion-friendly footwear, accommodated insoles, bunion splints, therapeutic tape, and shoe stretching are available in our foot clinic.To schedule best foot care appointment with our licensed Chiropodists (foot specialists), use the booking form below or call 416-769-FEET(3338).Our Toronto foot clinic is open Monday-Friday 10am-7pm, Saturdays 10am-4pm. You do not need a referral to become a patient at our foot clinic.
A plantar wart is a common viral skin infection that appears as a small, rough growth resembling a cauliflower or solid blister on the sole of the foot. When these lesions are located on a weight bearing surface, they tend to grow inward and will build up hard tissue overtop of it, resembling a callus or corn. Plantar warts affect both children and adults.
The most common symptoms of a plantar wart include:
Note: Warts can look similar to calluses and corns.
While some warts may resolve on their own over time, there are some that require a visit to see a foot specialist.
There is not one treatment that will cure all warts on all people. People respond differently to different treatments, so it is important to find what treatment works best for you. In general, the more aggressive or invasive the treatment, the higher the success rate. Less invasive procedures will require multiple visits.
The following are some treatment options your chiropodist may discuss with you:
Salicylic Acid
Salicylic acid is a topical medication found in many over the counter products designed to help treat warts. It softens the skin and increases the speed at which the skin sheds its outer layer. Your chiropodist will prescribe a higher dosage of this medication to increase its effectiveness and will schedule regular visits to reduce build-up of skin and eventually peel off the wart. This treatment is relatively painless.
Canthacur/Canthacur PS
Canthacur is a potent topical solution when applied to the skin, will result in a burn and consequent blister, lifting the warty tissue from the top layer of the skin. Although in some cases there will be no distinct pain yet, the topical foot solution is still applied. Pain, discomfort, burning sensations may develop over the subsequent days that follow. On average, it takes roughly three applications to eradicate a wart with this method of treatment.
Cryotherapy
Cryotherapy involves multiple rounds of freezing and thawing warty tissue. This process theoretically kills living cells, including the virus and may even stimulate an immune response.
Needling
Needling is an invasive procedure which requires local anesthetic injections to numb the area. It then involves puncturing the warty lesion with a sterile needle approximately 100 times to introduce the virus to the immune system and stimulate an immune response. Needling is usually indicated for recalcitrant warts and individuals who have multiple warts on their foot. Treating one wart this way can lead to eradication of all other warts on the foot.
Excision
Excision is a technique used to treat resistant plantar warts and is known to have a high success rate. The foot is first numbed using local anesthetics and the wart is then cut out using a scalpel blade and removed from the top layer of the skin. The base is also cauterized to ensure no living viral tissue is left behind.
To schedule best foot care treatment with our licensed chiropodists (foot specialists), use the booking form below or call 416-769-FEET(3338).
Our Toronto foot clinic is open Monday-Friday 10am-7pm, Saturdays 10am-4pm. You do not need a referral to become a patient at our foot clinic.
Plantar warts are caused by a strain of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) that infects the outermost layer of the skin on the soles of your feet. This virus may enter the skin when the skin is left vulnerable either by trauma, injury, or excessive moisture.
Certain risk factors may increase your chances of getting a plantar wart:
Here are various foot care solutions preventing plantar warts:
Plantar warts aren’t nearly as contagious as fungal infections such as athlete’s foot, but you can minimize your risk of being exposed to the virus by:
A callus is an area of thickened, hardened skin on the underside of the foot. usually found where the foot bears weight. Calluses will cover a diffuse area and have a relatively equal thickness. The skin naturally goes through a process called keratinization in which the skin cells die off as it reaches the top layer. This is how dead skin forms. A callus will form when this process is stimulated into over-activity in response to excessive or repetitive forces.
Symptoms of a foot callus include:
Calluses can be removed during an appointment with one of our foot specialist or licensed chiropodist who will safely remove the build-up of tissue and assess whether shoe inserts or properly fitted custom orthotics may be indicated to prevent their recurrence.
If you have diabetes or another condition that causes poor circulation in your feet, promptly consult a chiropodist to avoid complications.
To schedule best foot care treatment with our licensed Chiropodists (foot specialists), use the booking form below or call 416-769-FEET(3338).
Our Toronto foot clinic is open Monday-Friday 10am-7pm, Saturdays 10am-4pm. You do not need a referral to become a patient at our Foot clinic.
Calluses are often caused by ill-fitting footwear repeatedly rubbing against the soles of your feet. Biomechanical abnormalities can also lead to increased pressure in certain areas that can then develop callus.
Certain risk factors may increase your chances of developing calluses:
Here are various foot care solutions you can do to prevent developing calluses on your feet:
An ingrown toenail occurs when the side of the toenail curls down and pierces the flesh of the toe as the nail grows. Untreated ingrown toenails can easily become infected.
The most common symptoms of an ingrown toenail are:
If pain and redness is accompanied by pus, this can indicate that an ingrown toenail has become infected.
While waiting for an appointment with a chiropodist to treat an infected ingrown toenail, the following may help to manage the infection and reduce pain:
If you experience symptoms for more than three days, you should have your toenail assessed. To schedule best foot care treatment appointment with our licensed Chiropodists (foot specialists), use the booking form below or call 416-769-FEET(3338). You do not need a referral to become a patient at our foot clinic.
Ingrown toenail treatment may include:
Rapid treatment by a foot care specialist is especially important for individuals with diabetes. If left untreated, an ingrown toenail can cause severe complications including:
Sometimes, underlying biomechanical conditions can increase pressure on the toes and nails, which can lead to ingrowing nails. Correcting biomechanics with custom foot orthotics or orthopedic shoes following a biomechanical assessment and gait analysis may further relieve ingrown toe nails.
Certain risk factors may increase your chances of getting an ingrown toenail:
In order to prevent ingrown toenails:
Fungi are naturally present on and in the body, but when it begins to overgrow you can develop an infection. Fungal infections can develop anywhere on the body, but the feet are especially prone to fungal infection because our shoes provide a dark, warm, and moist environment in which fungus can thrive. One such infection is tinea pedis, also known as athlete’s foot, a fungal infection affecting the skin of the feet. Another is onychomycosis (tinea unguium), a fungal infection that can affect part of a toenail, a whole toenail, or several toenails.
The most common sign of a fungal nail infection is the development of white or yellow spots that present most commonly as:
Fungal toenails are generally more difficult to treat than athlete’s foot, with over-the-counter topical antifungal ointments not reliably eradicating infection. Better penetration of topical antifungal medications and regular nail debridement where the nail will be significantly reduced in thickness by a chiropodist is necessary. In some cases, an oral prescription of antifungal medication will be required.*Moisture-control socks, shoes, and sandals are available in our Toronto foot clinic.
*To schedule best foot care treatment with our licensed Chiropodists (foot specialists), use the booking form below or call 416-769-FEET(3338).
Our Toronto foot clinic is open Monday-Friday 10am-7pm, Saturdays 10am-4pm. You do not need a referral to become a patient at our Foot clinic.
Certain risk factors may increase your chances of developing fungal toenails:
Here are various foot care solutions you can do to prevent fungal infection of your toenails:
Moisture-control socks, shoes, and sandals are available in our clinic store, open Monday-Friday 10am-7pm and Saturday 10am-4pm.
The plantar fascia is a thick connective tissue structure that runs from your heel to your toes and supports the arch of your foot. Plantar fasciitis is a painful condition that can develop when this fascia becomes irritated or inflamed. It is one of the most common causes of heel pain.
The most common symptom of plantar fasciitis is sharp or stabbing pain on the underside of your heel when standing or walking. For others causes of heel pain see heel spur or Achilles tendonitis.
Plantar fasciitis treatment may include:
If you have persistent heel pain, schedule a diagnostic assessment with our own licensed Chiropodists (foot specialists), use the booking form below or call 416-769-FEET(3338).
Our Toronto foot clinic is open Monday-Friday 10am-7pm, Saturdays 10am-4pm. You do not need a referral to become a patient at our Foot clinic.
Plantar fasciitis occurs when the long fascial structure that runs between your toes and heels becomes strained, leading to micro-tears in the fascia and pain under the heel.
Certain risk factors may increase your chances of developing plantar fasciitis:
In order to prevent plantar fasciitis and heel pain, here are various foot care solutions to consider:
Our clinic store is open six days a week and offers a large selection of supportive footwear, athletic shoes, and sneakers (see What’s In Store). If you need assistance choosing shoes, drop-in shoe fitting is offered during clinic hours Monday-Friday and is a complimentary service.
The Achilles tendon is the longest tendon in the body, connecting the calf muscles to the heel bone. The calf muscles consist of two muscles, the gastrocnemius muscle and the soleus muscle. If your Achilles tendon is overused or under repetitive stress you can develop tendonitis, characterized by inflammation and pain of the tendon.
The most common symptom of Achilles tendonitis is a mild ache or pain in the back of the lower-leg or above the heel, especially first thing in the morning and after exercise. The tendon can also be warm, swollen and irritated with certain ankle movements.
Achilles tendonitis treatment may include:
If you have persistent heel or ankle pain, schedule a diagnostic assessment with our foot specialists to identify the cause of pain.
To schedule best foot care treatment appointment with our licensed Chiropodists (foot specialists), use the booking form below or call 416-769-FEET(3338).
Our Toronto foot clinic is open six days a week. We offer a large selection of supportive footwear, sneakers, and cushioning insoles (see What’s In Store) for Achilles tendonitis.
You do not need a referral to become a patient at our Foot clinic.
Achilles tendonitis develops when the Achilles tendon becomes swollen and inflamed due to persistent intense strain on the tendon. Without proper treatment, Achilles tendonitis can turn into Achilles tendonosis, which leads to thickening, scarring and weakness of the tendon over time. Tendonosis is due to small micro tears developing within the tendon without inflammation and can be even more difficult to treat than tendonitis. Often, nearby structures including the paratenon or retrocalcaneal bursa can be the cause of the problem, so it is important to have a foot specialist treat the condition appropriately.
For another common cause of heel pain see plantar fasciitis.
If you have persistent heel or ankle pain, schedule a diagnostic assessment with our practice to identify the cause of pain. To schedule an assessment use the booking form below or call 416-769-FEET(3338). You do not need a referral to become a patient at our clinic.
Certain risk factors may increase your chances of developing Achilles tendonitis:
There are a number of things you can do to prevent Achilles tendonitis:
All patients with diabetes should obtain an annual comprehensive foot examination by a licensed chiropodist to identify risk factors predictive of ulcers and amputations. In patients with diabetes, increased blood glucose can impair blood flow, compromise the immune system, slow down healing and cause decreased sensation (neuropathy) in the feet and toes. As a result, common foot problems can lead to serious complications. At your appointment, your chiropodist will check for adequate circulation, any signs of neuropathy, risk for foot ulcers, and manage any nail and skin concerns. Put your feet in the hands of a health care professional to reduce the risk of infection and diabetic complications.
In people with diabetes, common foot problems can cause serious complications:
Contact your doctor immediately if you have diabetes and your feet display any of the following:
To schedule a diabetes foot exam, use the booking form below or call 416-769-FEET(3338). You do not need a physician’s referral.
Certain risk factors may increase your chances of diabetic foot complications:
Treatment for pain and complications resulting from diabetes may include:
Promptly identifying and treating skin and toenail problems is critical for preventing complications. With routine skin, foot, and nail care and diligent foot monitoring, you can reduce your risk of serious complications or prevent them entirely.
Prevention measures include:
Diabetic care products including orthopedic shoes, compression stockings, medical creams, and foot care tools are available in our Toronto foot clinic.
To schedule best foot care treatment appointment with our licensed Chiropodists (foot specialists), use the booking form below or call 416-769-FEET(3338).
Our Toronto foot clinic is open Monday-Friday 10am-7pm, Saturdays 10am-4pm. You do not need a referral to become a patient at our Foot clinic.