Lincoln Footcare

Painful Toenail – Total Nail Removal 👣

This patient attended with a persistently painful toenail and had reached the point where she wanted the whole nail removed.

After assessment and discussion of the options, we carried out a total nail avulsion under local anaesthetic, removing the full nail plate to take away the source of pain and pressure.

✅ Toe fully numbed first
✅ Entire nail removed
✅ Procedure carried out with no pain during treatment
✅ Aftercare and healing advice provided

If you’re struggling with a painful, damaged or troublesome toenail, there are treatment options available.

👣 Book your nail assessment today

📱 07979 234004
🌐 www.lincolnfootcare.co.uk

Podiatry Podiatrist LincolnPodiatry FootCare

Retronychia – When the Nail Pushes Back Into the Skin 👣

Not every painful toenail is a typical “ingrown nail”.

With retronychia, the problem is at the base of the nail, near the cuticle. The nail’s normal forward growth becomes disrupted and the nail plate can become pushed back into the proximal nail fold, causing persistent pain and inflammation.

It can sometimes follow repetitive trauma, tight footwear, running or an injury to the toe.

Common signs include:

✅ Pain and tenderness at the base of the nail
✅ Redness and swelling around the cuticle
✅ Bleeding or discharge
✅ Thickened or distorted nail growth
✅ Layers of nail appearing to build up
✅ Difficulty wearing shoes comfortably
✅ Recurrent inflammation that keeps returning

Because the problem is at the base of the nail rather than down the sides, retronychia can sometimes be mistaken for a conventional ingrown toenail or simple infection.

Antibiotics may occasionally be needed if there is a secondary infection, but they do not remove the underlying mechanical problem if the nail plate continues to irritate the tissue.

At Lincoln Footcare we can assess the nail carefully and distinguish between retronychia, paronychia, trauma-related nail damage and a conventional ingrown toenail.

Treatment depends on the severity. Mild cases may be managed conservatively, while more established or painful cases can sometimes require removal of the affected nail plate to relieve the pressure and allow healthy nail growth to restart.

If you have persistent pain, swelling or inflammation around the base of a toenail, it’s worth getting it properly assessed rather than repeatedly treating it as an infection.

👣 Book your nail assessment today

📞 01522 510299
📱 07979 234004
🌐 www.lincolnfootcare.co.uk

NailProblems Podiatry Podiatrist LincolnPodiatry FootCare HealthyFeet

One Year Later… What a Difference! 👣👌

This young patient attended Lincoln Footcare with a painful ingrowing toenail affecting his right big toe.

A sharp spike of nail was digging deeply into the surrounding skin, causing pain, inflammation and considerable discomfort.

When an ingrowing toenail repeatedly penetrates the skin, simply trimming the visible corner may provide only temporary relief. A hidden nail spike can remain within the side of the toe and continue to cause irritation.

Following a full assessment and discussion of the available treatment options, a partial nail avulsion—or PNA—was performed.

This precise procedure removes only the troublesome section of nail while preserving the healthy remainder of the nail plate.

The treatment included:

✅ Local anaesthetic to keep the toe comfortable
✅ Careful removal of the painful nail spike
✅ Preservation of the healthy section of nail
✅ Professional dressing and aftercare
✅ Follow-up support throughout healing

And the second photograph shows the result one year later.

The toe has healed beautifully, the painful nail edge is no longer causing trouble, and the remaining nail looks healthy and natural.

This is a lovely example of how partial nail surgery can provide lasting relief while still achieving an excellent cosmetic result.

👣 Struggling with a painful, inflamed or repeatedly ingrowing toenail? Early assessment can help prevent the problem from becoming increasingly painful or infected.

Book your ingrowing toenail assessment today.

📞 01522 510299
📱 07979 234004
📧 [email protected]
🌐 www.lincolnfootcare.co.uk

Images shared with the informed written and verbal consent of the patient and parent. Individual healing and treatment outcomes may vary.

PNA ToenailSurgery FootPain HealthyNails Podiatry Podiatrist LincolnPodiatry FootCare

Pressure Is Only Half the Story… 👣

When we analyse your gait, we don’t just look at how much pressure your feet experience — we also look at how long that pressure is applied.

This is known as plantar pressure impulse, and it can give us valuable information about how your feet are loading during every step.

You may not have the highest peak pressure in a particular area, but if that area remains loaded for longer, the repeated cumulative stress can contribute to irritation and overload of the joints, tendons and soft tissues.

Using our Footscan pressure plate technology, we can analyse your feet dynamically while you walk and identify areas that may be experiencing excessive or prolonged loading.

This can be particularly useful when investigating:

✅ Plantar heel pain
✅ Metatarsalgia and forefoot pain
✅ Recurrent pressure or callus
✅ Tendon and soft-tissue overload
✅ Diabetic foot pressure concerns
✅ Foot, ankle, knee, hip or lower-limb problems

And gait analysis isn’t just for runners.

Your Footscan assessment gives us information that can be difficult to see during a traditional visual examination alone, helping us build a more complete picture of how your feet function when you actually move.

Where appropriate, excessive loading may then be addressed through a personalised treatment plan involving footwear changes, strengthening and mobility work, gait advice or custom Phits 3D-printed orthoses designed using your individual Footscan data.

👣 Experiencing foot or lower-limb pain? Maybe it’s time to look beyond where it hurts and investigate how you’re loading your feet.

Book your Footscan gait analysis today.

📞 01522 510299
📱 07979 234004
📧 [email protected]
🌐 www.lincolnfootcare.co.uk

FootPain HeelPain Metatarsalgia Orthotics PhitsOrthotics Podiatry Podiatrist LincolnPodiatry FootCare