The Critical Thinker – Keratotic Disorders

April 13, 2026

Foot care specialists are well versed in treating keratotic disorders through recognizing the need for debridement. But, do we understand the preventative strategies that ensures our clients remain comfortable between each foot care visit?

There are two main types of keratotic disorders the PodOrtho Foot Specialist treats.

  1. Corns
  2. Callouses

Easy enough to treat however, in order to improve your clients mobility, stability in one’s gait and comfort we must consider offering recommendations and education to our clients.

Many clients often ask me “Erin why do these keep coming back”? “They are very painful and change how I’m walking”. “I’m noticing my knee’s are hurting because of the way I’m walking to avoid placing pressure on this painful callous”.

Recognizing the effects placed on our clients helps us to understand how we can assist in circumventing and potential long term negative health consequences.

Establish a Plan of Care (POC)

  1. Determine the Causative Factors
    • Gait analysis observing high areas of pressure
    • Wear patterns in shoes
    • Repetitive activity
    • Leg length discrepancies
    • Prolonged pressure in one area for an extended amount of time i.e. workplace
  2. Treatment Considerations
    • Keratotic Prevention of Circumstantial Effects
    • Skin breakdown-treat, dress, offload
    • Pain/discomfort at site-Remove causative factors
    • Referred Pain/Discomfort (knee’s, hips, back)-Provide Custom Foot Orthotics or Refer to allied HCP i.e. Chiropractor, Physiotherapist, Massage Therapist, Reflexologist, Lymphatic Drainage Specialist, Osteopath.
    • Provide Client Education
    • Explain the mechanisms of action
    • Compressional, tortional, frictional and rotational stressors and how to avoid them
    • Recommend types and styles of footwear to wear or avoid
    • Offloading strategies (off the shelf orthoses appliances or CFO)
    • Homecare recommendations with clear instructions on researched products, and how often to use them
    • Be clear about how often they should attend for maintenance foot care
    • Debridement
    • Offloading (CFO, AFO)
    • Homecare Products (Mousse, Lotions specifically designed to eliminate hyperkeratosis)
    • Maintenance Foot Care (Reg. Pod. F.S. determines length between appointments)

 

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