Why Go To A Podiatric Physician?

Todays, medicine is very specialized. There are medical practitioners with expert knowledge of the problems and treatments for each part of the body. We go to opticians for our eyes, skin specialist for skin problems, cardiologists for heart conditions and so on. The feet are no different and deserve the same care and specialized treatment. For most of us our feet are far from our thoughts are we tend to take them for granted. We expect them to be sore after a long day. We accept the occasional small injury and pain as a part of life. Our feet are extremely tough and able to deal with carrying the weight of our bodies, day after day. But they are also highly engineered and very complex and if problems that do occur are not nipped in the bud, they can let us down, affect our mobility and alter the way we live our lives. The feet are also often the place where early signs of other medical conditions that affect other parts of the body first show up. Caring for the feet is important for our overall good health.

That’s why visiting a podiatric physician, often referred to as a podiatrist, regularly, is so important.

What Is a Podiatrist?

A podiatrist is a highly trained specialist and a qualified Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM). A podiatrist treats medical conditions and problems affecting the feet, ankles and the related parts of the legs. They know that the feet often are the first place that symptoms of other medical conditions appear and in such cases can refer the patient to another specialist to deal with problems affecting other parts of the body. Regular checkups of the feet are important not only for the feet but also for the rest of the body.

The Qualifications Of A Podiatrist

A podiatrist is a qualified medical practitioner. He or she will have completed 4 years of training in podiatric medicine and then 3 years of residency in a hospital. This is similar to the training that other medical specialists receive. Many then go on to spend more time increasing their areas of specialization. These can include such things as sports medicine, wound treatment, pediatric podiatry, diabetic care and surgery.

Podiatric Certification

As with all medical practitioners, podiatrists must undergo advanced training and obtain extensive clinical experience and pass a tough examination in order to be certified. This certification is conducted by the American Board of Podiatric Medicine or the American Board of Podiatric Surgery.

Prevention Is Better Than Cure

Having regular pedicures and keeping the feet looking nice and clean is a good thing. But that does not constitute foot care. The human foot has 26 bones, 19 muscles and tendons, 33 joints and 107 ligaments. The bones in the feet constitute almost 25% of all the bones in the body. It is this complexity that gives them their strength and toughness but it also means that there is a lot that can go wrong. Only a podiatrist can assess the condition of the feet, diagnose problems and provide the treatment that will enable the feet to stay as healthy, strong and mobile as possible.