Conditions that may need assistance of a Podiatrist

Posted by msfoot andankle on July 2nd, 2016

The branch of medicine which deals with the diagnosis and surgical, physical and medical treatment of foot diseases, injuries and defects is called podiatric medicine. It is also known as podiatry.

The various ailments which podiatric medicine treat under it are corns, bunions, neuromas, ingrown nails, hammertoes, heel pain, fractures , sprains, calluses, injuries and infections.

To become a podiatric physician one needs to first pass his undergraduate medical school and then obtain a doctorate in podiatric medicine before he begins to practise podiatry or treats patients for foot ailments. Apart from having educational degrees the podiatrists also need to have a license in the state that they are practising in.

Podiatric medicine usually treats the following foot ailments :-

Bunions: This is a medical condition where a person’s misaligned toe joints get swollen and tender and his big toe begins to slant outward. This can get even more aggravated by wearing shoes with narrow toe spaces. Mostly a minor surgery is performed to treat this condition. 

Hammertoes:  this is a disorder where muscle imbalance in your foot can lead to claw like toes. This mainly happens to the second toe but can affect other toes as well. Wearing socks and shoes which avoid cramping of toes can help in treating this disorder.

Heel spurs: This is a condition in which there is thickening and inflammation of the plantar fascia. Wearing the right shoes might reduce the strain to a large extent. However to treat chronic cases of heel spurs usually shockwave treatment and minimal incision surgery is performed on the patient.

Ingrown nails: In this the corners of the toenails dig deep into the skin of foot. This mostly occurs due to improper trimming of nails. Other reasons for ingrown nails are shoes pressure, poor foot structure, fungus infection in nail, injury to nail or sometimes even heredity . The best way to treat ingrown nails is by trimming your nails straight across and by wearing shoes of the correct size as your foot. If this doesn’t help, then to deal withingrown toenail in southaven, consult a foot doctor.

Neuromas: This condition arises due to compression of nerves against ligaments between joints. It can happen either due to ill fitting shoes or due to abnormal bone structure. Cortisone injections are used for treating neuromas. Shoe inserts or metatarsal pads are also employed for treating this condition.

Heel pain:  Heel pain which arises due to inflammation on the foot bottom. This pain is treated by using customized shoe inserts known as orthoses. The person may also be put on painkillers and may even be advised to undergo physical therapy.

Plantar Fasciitis : A thin band called as Plantar fascia connects the heel bone to toes. Sometimes due to foot injury, the fascia becomes inflamed and weak. This causes pain in heel or bottom of the foot. Such condition is called as Plantar Fasciitis. To know the appropriate treatment based on the level of plantar heel pain, you must visit a podiatrist.

Due to the increasing cases of foot problems today either because of wearing wrong kind of footwear, or due to heredity or as a result of strain , podiatric medicine has gained huge popularity and is in great demand today.