What Is Podiatric Medicine?
Podiatric medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis and surgical
, physical, mechanical, medical and adjunctive treatment of foot diseases, injuries and defects. Podiatric medicine is also referred to as chiropody and podiatry.
The different foot and ankle problems treated in podiatric medicine include bunions, corns, neuromas, ingrown nails, hammertoes, calluses, heel pain, sprains, fractures, infections and injuries.
For a doctor to practice podiatry, they have to not only pass undergraduate medical school, but also require obtaining a doctorate in podiatric medicine. In addition to this, depending on state and national exams, podiatrists have to be licensed in the state they practice in.
The top foot problems treated in podiatric medicine includes:
Bunions which are usually hereditary, but can get aggravated by shoes with narrow toe space. It is a condition where the misaligned toe joints become swollen and tender, and the big toe tends to slant outwards. Surgery is usually used to correct the problem.
Hammertoes where muscle imbalance leads to claw-like toes. It usually happens to the second toe, but may also affect other toes. Using shoes and socks that dont cramp the toes help treat the condition.
Heel spurs, which is the thickening and inflammation of the plantar fascia. While strain to it can be reduced with the right warm-up and shoes, shockwave treatment and minimal incision surgery is used to treat chronic cases.
Ingrown nails where the corners of toenails dig into the skin. They usually arise from improper nail trimming; but shoe pressure, heredity, poor foot structure, fungus infection and injury are other contributing factors. It is possible to prevent ingrown toenails by trimming nails straight across and wearing shoes of the same size, which are not tapering or shallow.
Neuromas which arise because of compression of nerves against ligaments between joints, ill fitting shoes and abnormal bone structure. They are treated using shoe inserts, metarsal pads or cortisone injections and dont usually need surgery.
Heel pain which is caused by inflammation on the foot bottom. The pain is reduced using customized shoe inserts called orthoses, in addition to painkillers, orthotic devices and physical therapy.
With so many foot problems people suffer from because of strain, use of wrong footwear and heredity, it is not surprising that podiatric medicine is today a very important branch of medicine.
by: LeenaMarcos
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