Almost everyone knows that a podiatrist is a doctor of the feet and ankles, but what few know is what the podiatrists do and the conditions they treat. Podiatrists can treat patients in the office, hospital, wound healing centre and operating room. Patients with a variety of ages are treated, from young children to the elderly, athletes and diabetics.

Contact true professionals with years of experience helping people have healthy feet and make sure they wear the right type of shoes.

The most common conditions include plantar fasciitis (a cause of heel pain), ingrown toenails, bunions, hammertoes and flat feet.

1. Bunions are a bony prominence that form at the base of the big toe and are particularly common in women. They require surgery in most cases.
2. Hammer toes are fingers that bend and commonly occur on the second or third toe. They require surgery in most cases.
3. Flat feet occur when arches are lower than normal. Podiatrists offer conservative treatments and in severe cases surgical treatments to reduce pain.
4. Bone fractures or fractures podiatrists can treat them, including fractures of fingers, metatarsals, ankle and stress fractures. These occur when he collides with something or something is dropped on them. Stress fractures are common in athletes and people with osteoporosis.
5. The diabetic foot includes conditions such as redness and swelling of the ankles, callused areas, ingrown toenails or open wounds in the lower part of the feet, heels or between the toes.

The foot and ankle contain 26 bones, which help people stay upright and help support the weight of the human body.

Have you never been to the pedologist? Five reasons to visit it

The feet are the forgotten parts of our body and, in many occasions, they do not receive the attention that they require. And you, are you one of those who only go to the podiatrist when you feel pain or discomfort in the feet?

If the answer is yes, you should change this approach and go, at least, once a year. Even if you do not have pain, proper care is essential to considerably improve overall health.

To get an idea of ​​its relevance, pay attention to these curiosities and data:

– We walk about 10,000 steps a day, which means that throughout our lives we will have taken many steps to walk around the world four times.

– On our feet we discharge twice our weight in each step and up to four times more if we run.

– The feet are the only point of support of our body, where we hold all the weight.

If with these data you still do not know the importance of taking care of the footprint, we leave you five reasons why you should (if you have not yet done so) visit the podiatrist.

1. Prevention

Treating a small foot discomfort in time or detecting a bad footprint can avoid major problems in the short and long term. Podiatric health is essential to prevent the appearance of various pathologies that affect not only the feet, but also other parts of our body such as knees, hips or spine.

Prevention can be fundamental to avoid a short or long term ailment.

2. Sports practices?

Practicing sports involves thousands of repetitions of a certain gesture generating overloads on the feet. Sports activities can cause some problems that we must prevent and control to prevent them from becoming more serious injuries or pathologies.

For this reason, it is advisable to go to a sports podiatrist to advise you on how to perform the activity, as well as to study the suitability of your footprint. The way to step is important in any patient, but it is more in an athlete since the intensity and the number of steps increases.

The way of stepping is directly related to the injuries of an athlete.

The sports podiatrist with the results of the examination will try to correct, if necessary, the way of stepping, as well as diagnose a treatment with personalized templates, exercises, etc. In turn, it will help you determine what is the right footwear depending on the playing surface and your needs.

3. Growth stage

There is no age as such to have a podiatric revision, since foot care is indicated for all ages. In children ages it is advisable to make the first visit with 4 or 5 years and go to a podiatrist at least once a year. An early diagnosis is essential to detect a pathology in time.

Many of the problems in the feet and gait can be corrected with simple treatments such as exercises or personalized templates.

However, it is very important to keep track of the evolution of the footprint of children, since up to the adult stage the feet undergo changes and pathologies that must be supervised by professionals. The most common problems that we find in children patients are flat feet, valgus feet, bad positioning of the fingers, Sever’s disease, papillomas, decreased stability or walking “on tiptoe”, etc.

4. Is your shoe the right one for your type of foot?

Women are up to four times more likely to have foot problems than men. This is usually due to the type of footwear, especially the abuse of high-heeled shoes and narrow ends.

This data is a sign that abuse of certain types of footwear, of any kind, or use them inappropriately can be harmful to our feet. The shoe you need will depend on what you wear it for.

Investing in good shoes is investing in health.

5. Know the health of your footstep

A bad footprint can generate dissymmetry’s, back problems, joints, etc … Visiting the podiatrist is vital to prevent an injury that may lead to another type of ailment. Therefore, it is advisable to perform a biomechanical study of the footprint. Thanks to this analysis we know how to step on a patient, helping to diagnose or advise to prevent the appearance of muscle and osteoarticular injuries such as plantar fasciitis, tendinitis, muscular overloads, etc.

In short, taking care of your feet, regularly visiting the podiatrist and keeping track of the footprints are fundamental aspects to take care of health by preventing pathologies or injuries.

Here at Parkwood Green Medical we will assist you and help you with any speech problems you have.