When you hear the word podiatrist, what do you think of?
Nail cutting? Corns? Hard skin?
While these are certainly things podiatrists can help with, there is a lot more to podiatry than routine foot care.
A podiatrist is a healthcare professional specialising in the feet, ankles and lower limbs, helping people manage everything from everyday foot problems to sports injuries, biomechanical issues and more complex conditions.
With International Podiatry on the 8th of October, we are answering the age old question, what does a podiatrist do?
We look after more than just toenails!
Routine foot care is an important part of podiatry, particularly for people who struggle to safely manage their own feet.
We regularly treat things such as:
- Corns and calluses
- Thickened or difficult-to-cut toenails
- Ingrown toenails
- Verrucas
- Cracked or dry skin
- Fungal nail problems
- Painful areas caused by pressure or friction
But that’s only one part of what we do.
We help with foot and ankle pain
If you’ve ever experienced heel pain, arch pain, pain across the ball of your foot or ongoing ankle problems, a podiatrist can help investigate what might be causing it.
Rather than simply treating the painful area, we look at the bigger picture.
How are you walking? What shoes are you wearing? How is your foot moving? Are there any areas of weakness or restriction? Is something placing extra stress on a particular part of your foot?
Depending on the problem, your assessment may include a biomechanical assessment, gait assessment, ultrasound scan or other clinical tests.
The aim is to understand the cause of the problem and develop an appropriate treatment plan.
We work with sports injuries
Your feet and lower limbs take a huge amount of stress when you’re running, playing football, going to the gym or taking part in sport.
Podiatrists can assess and treat a range of sports-related problems, including issues affecting the foot, ankle and lower limb.
We can also look at your biomechanics, footwear and training habits to help identify factors that may be contributing to an injury.
This isn’t just for elite athletes either. Whether you’re training for a marathon, playing GAA at the weekend or simply trying to get back into exercise, your feet still have to cope with the demands you’re putting on them.
We assess how your feet move
One of the things that makes podiatry different is that we don’t just look at your feet while you’re sitting down.
Sometimes we need to see how your feet and lower limbs function when you’re standing, walking or moving.
A biomechanical assessment can help us understand how your joints, muscles and feet are working together and whether certain movements could be contributing to pain or injury.
Where appropriate, treatment may include exercises, footwear advice, changes to activity, rehabilitation or custom orthotics.
We treat more complex foot problems too
Podiatrists also play an important role in managing more complex foot conditions.
This can include helping people with diabetes to look after their feet and identifying potential problems early. At South Dublin Podiatry, diabetic foot assessments can include vascular and neurological checks to assess the health and sensation of the feet.
We also treat problems such as complicated ingrown toenails and can provide treatments including toenail surgery where appropriate.
We don’t always need to treat you!
Sometimes the best thing a podiatrist can do is give you advice.
It might be advice about the right shoes, how to look after your skin and nails, exercises to strengthen your feet, how to manage a particular activity or what to do to prevent a problem from returning.
Podiatry isn’t always about fixing a problem once it has become painful. Prevention is a big part of what we do too.
So, when should you see a podiatrist?
You don’t have to wait until you can barely walk!
If you have a foot or ankle problem that keeps coming back, is affecting your everyday life, is stopping you from exercising or simply isn’t improving, it may be worth getting it assessed.
You might also benefit from seeing a podiatrist if:
- You regularly get corns, calluses or blisters
- You have recurring ingrown toenails
- You experience ongoing heel or foot pain
- You’re getting repeated sports injuries
- You’re struggling with your toenails or skin
- You’re concerned about your feet because of diabetes
- You’re unsure whether your footwear is suitable
- You want to understand more about the way your feet move
- You’re returning to sport after an injury
More than just feet
Although we call ourselves podiatrists, we’re really looking at the whole picture.
Your feet are connected to your ankles, knees, hips and the rest of your body, and problems in one area can sometimes affect another.
That’s why a podiatry appointment isn’t simply about looking at your feet. It’s about understanding how your feet function, what they’re being asked to do and how we can help you keep them healthy and moving well.
From routine foot care to sports injuries, biomechanics, diabetic foot assessments and everything in between, there’s a lot more to podiatry than you might think!
If you’ve got a foot problem you’ve been putting off, maybe this is the year to get it checked.