A foot podiatrist specializes in the medical care of the lower leg, ankle, and foot. If you are having problems with your feet, ankles, or lower leg, you should seek the care of a foot specialist. They can be found in clinics, hospitals, and private practice. Foot orthotics may be recommended to correct some of your problems. People experiencing problems with their feet should seek the care of a local specialist. If you are experiencing painful problems with your feet, this can also cause painful issues with your knees, hips, and lower back because your body is out of alignment and the change in your gait in order to accommodate your foot problem makes you even more miserable. What types of issues does a foot podiatrist treat? Foot disorders associated with disease include arthritis; diabetic neuropathy; athlete's foot, etc. Common problems foot problems associated with sports injuries including abrasions, blisters, contusions, tendon injuries, muscle injuries, joint sprains, fractures, and toenail injuries and bruising. Other common disorders that are not associated with an injury include gout, tendonitis, bunions, hammertoes, curled toes, overlapping or underlapping toes, plantar warts, flatfeet, heel spurs, ingrown toenails, corns, calluses, or arch pain or otherwise known as plantar fasciitis. Some of these problems may be caused by something as common as wearing shoes that are not properly fitted. Once your podiatrist diagnoses the cause of your foot pain, they will recommend and prescribe pharmaceutical, surgical, or mechanical orthotics treatment. Special appliances may be prescribed by your podiatrist. Orthotics is a custom-made device that alleviates pain. Your foot specialist may write a prescription for a customized device to fit the need of each individual patient. In order to get the correct measurements for your custom-made appliance you will be required to step in box that contains foam and leave your footprint. Orthotics for foot problems are custom-made inserts that fit inside the shoes to reduce pain and discomfort. These devices can be made from a variety of materials depending on your specific foot problem. As you can imagine custom-made inserts are costly and may or may not be covered by your insurance. Keep in mind you can buy inserts at many stores without a prescription but they may not solve the problem because they are not customized for your feet and may not be effective. Individuals that benefit from this appliance include: people who stand a great deal while working, people that are active in sports, and people that are overweight, elderly, or suffer from diabetes. It is particularly effective in treating foot pain associated with several different foot issues. Depending on the problem, you may only need to wear the orthotics for a period of time to allow a foot problem to correct itself, only wear it when doing certain activities, or you may be required to wear the orthotics for the rest of your life. When you first start wearing it you will not notice immediate changes but over time you will notice subtle but distinct changes and improvement.
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