I had a chronic problem with ingrown toe nails on both of my big toes! I had the problem since I was a kid. About two years ago I had a "wedge resection" performed on both of my big toes.
The podiatrists pokes you with a really narrow guage needle, to inject an anesthetic, and then reduces the width of the nail with a pair of scissors and then chemically burns the nailbed so that it won't grow back. I had to keep my toes wrapped for a while and couldn't hike or run for about 2-3 months, I can't exactly remember how long it was. I feel no pain when I walk and because of that I am a much happier person