Abstract
Onychocryptosis is a painful condition of the toe occurring principally in the hallux. It is
characterised by the nail plate growing and digging into the nail fold causing pain, swelling,
redness and possibly infections (Johnston, 2010). The pain associated with onychocryptosis is
often severe enough to cause difficulty in walking, as a quarter of the body’s weight gets placed
on the hallux joint (Martin et al., 2001). It is the most frequent foot problem encountered in clinical
practice (Rehbock, 2009). Although, there are no statistics on the number of people suffering from
onychocryptosis in South Africa up to date, according to the World Health Organization, 7.1
million of people suffer from onychocryptosis in America alone (Rightdiagnosis, 2015). It is
estimated that approximately 20% of patients presenting to doctors with a foot problem have
onychocryptosis (Khan et al., 2014). The condition mainly affects young adolescents and adults
(Karaca & Dereli, 2012)...