What Does a Podiatrist Do?
Demystifying podiatry
My little niece asked me “What’s a podiatrist?” after we went to my doctor for my painfully deformed area near the big toe over-pronation problem. I explained to her that a podiatrist is a foot and ankle specialist. My doctor recommended that we see one of the leading foot and ankle clinics in Orange County California for corrective surgery on their bunion repair procedure.
I didn't know much about podiatry aside from what the foot doctor had told us during the telemedicine session, so I asked a longstanding friend who happens to be a well-regarded podiatrist in Irvine for advice. She invited me to meet her at a nearby café where, fortunately for me, she was meeting with a colleague who, as I subsequently discovered, is the brains behind the best bunion surgery in Orange County.
It was during our meeting that she educated me a lot about the role of a Podiatrist Irvine. I learned that a podiatrist is a medical specialist who helps with problems that affect the feet or lower legs. Podiatrists are doctors but don’t go to traditional medical school and can treat injuries as well as complications from ongoing health issues like diabetes.
As a foot doctor, a podiatrist can do surgery, reset broken bones, prescribe drugs, and order lab tests or X-rays. They often collaborate with other healthcare specialists when a problem affecting feet or lower legs is brought to them.
During their college career, people who aspire to become podiatrists typically take biology, chemistry, and physics in addition to other science studies. They then focus on how muscles, nerves, and bones interact to facilitate movement. Additionally, they research ailments and injuries that may affect the feet and lower legs, along with their diagnosis, treatment, and, in some cases, surgical correction.
What a podiatrist does
With your entire body often supported by your feet, seemingly minor problems with the limbs can cost you an arm and a leg. Hip, back, knee, or ankle pain could all originate in your feet.
For example, badly fitting shoes and unresolved foot injury issues could lead to corns. A podiatrist can help ensure your feet are healthy and do not trigger problems for the rest of your body. To achieve this, podiatrists do the following:
- Biomechanical assessments
Podiatrists assess the way people walk (their gait), stand, and move generally. They don’t just look at their feet. They consider the entire lower limb, which means that your knees, legs, and pelvis are all part of the assessment. They are able to tell you exactly where pressure is being applied to the soles of your feet, and flag out any issues causing imbalances.
- Provision of advice on the correct footwear
The wrong footwear could cause you painful blisters and calluses. For people with diabetes, the wrong footwear could result in foot complications that necessitate amputation. Podiatrists prevent this by providing advice on the correct footwear, including for athletes and people actively pursuing sports, so that their exercise regimes are pain-free. Of course, this advice isn’t just for active people and people with diabetes. Anyone can sustain an injury to their lower limbs in their daily lives.
- Lower limb treatment and rehabilitation
A podiatrist can help you with the necessary treatment and rehabilitation to put you on the road to quick recovery if you develop a lower limb injury. During one of my conversation with the podiatrist in Orange County I was referred to, I learned that podiatrists attend to much more than just lower limb injuries that arise from people’s work, sports, and simple household chores. They also focus on injury treatment, rehabilitation, and prevention. They are, therefore, key to helping people with any type of foot and ankle injuries or impairments get back to doing things they love as quickly as possible.
- Detection and prevention of medical conditions
Podiatrists play a vital role in detecting and managing serious medical conditions that first manifest in the feet. Given the enormous number of joints in a person’s feet, disorders such as arthritis and diabetes initially take hold or manifest there.
Podiatrists can also help to prevent a wide range of medical conditions, including ingrown toenails, or heel and arch pain. The specialized knowledge of a podiatrist enables them to quickly diagnose any foot or ankle condition and forge a plan for appropriate treatments.
- Improve people’s mobility
The fundamental role of a podiatrist is to improve people’s mobility, independence, and quality of life. With improved mobility, people are better able to enjoy their respective lifestyles and utilize their livelihood opportunities effectively.
Need help with the services of a podiatrist?
Lower limb injuries often keep people from achieving their goals in life, but it doesn't have to be this way. You can get information on how your lower limbs are healthy as well any help you need when injured or sick so that one day soon they will once again function at 100%. Click here for more details!