PODIATRY

Doctors of Podiatric Medicine (DPMs), often referred to as podiatrists or podiatric physicians, are highly trained specialists in foot and ankle medicine, rehabilitation, and surgery. The Board of Podiatric Medicine (BPM) is the unit of the Medical Board that administers their licensing.

Confused About Foot Doctors?

If you are concerned about your feet and you don't know who to ask, call us to assist you with finding a podiatrist to evaluate and treat your foot problems. We offer no-charge consultations with doctors specializing in the foot areas. Call us today toll-free at (888) 433-9091 for your no-charge consultation appointment.

IN THIS SECTION:

The Initial Evaluation: What Kind of Shape Are Your Feet In?

• How To "Read" Your Footprints
• Try the watermark test
  

The Orthopaedic Distinction

• Education
  
• Accreditation
  
• Interaction with other physicians
  

Put your feet in the best hands

VISIT THESE OTHER SECTIONS FOR HAPPY, HEALTHY FEET:

FOOT HEALTH

• The Adult Foot - Foot Problems & Treatment
• Foot Conditions
• Practice Good Foot Hygiene and Toenail Care
  
  

SHOE TIPS FOR HEALTHY FEET

• Shoes
• Anatomy of a Shoe
• Recommendations for Footwear
• 10 Points for a Proper Shoe fit
• Footwear Guide
  
  

FOOTWEAR RECOMMONDATIONS

• Lacing Techniques for Proper Shoe Fit
• Men's Shoes
• Work Shoes
• Women's Shoes
• Cruel Shoes
• Smart Tips for Wearing High Heels
• Children's Shoes
• Athletic Shoes
• Running Shoes
• Checklist for Shoes
  
  

The Initial Evaluation: What Kind of Shape Are Your Feet In?

Take your shoes off and follow these simple steps for self-examination.

• Skin. Check your skin for calluses, blisters or areas of irritation. Now stand next to your shoes. Are they shaped like your feet or are they causing areas of constriction that may result in calluses, blisters or irritation? Now put your hand inside your shoe. Are there seams, tacks or rough places in the shoe that correspond to the areas of irritation, calluses or blisters on your feet?
  

• Circulation. Look at the color of your toes. Are they red, pink, purple or blue? Press down on the nail of your big toe until the color blanches. Now let go and allow the blood flow to return to your toe. The return of normal color should take 2-5 seconds in a person with average circulation.
  

• Flexibility. How flexible are your toes? Try to pick up a marble (excellent) or a small dishtowel (good). To test your ankle flexibility, hang your heel off of a stair. Now let the heel go below the level of the stair. If this causes pain, stop the test. If your heel goes below the level of the stair without causing strain in your calf, that is excellent. If there is some strain, this can be improved with flexibility exercises.
  

• Sensation. Take a pencil eraser and lightly run it on the top, bottom and both sides of your feet. The sensation should feel equal in all quadrants. It may tickle on the bottom of the feet. That is normal.
  

• Pain. There should be no pain in the average foot.
  

• Balance. A good test for balance involves standing on one foot, with your arms out to the side and your eyes closed. If you are less than 30 years old, you should be able to balance for 15 seconds, 30-40 years old for 12 seconds, 40-50 years old for 10 seconds, and over 50 years old for 7 seconds. This can be improved with exercises.
  
  
  
  

How To "Read" Your Footprints

• When you take a step, your foot typically hits the ground heel first and rolls toward your toes, flattening the arch slightly. As you push off the ball of your foot, your arch springs back and does not touch the ground. That's how normal feet are supposed to work. Unfortunately, many feet aren't normal.
  
  If your foot rolls too much toward the inside, it's called over-pronation. This leads to arch strain and pain on the inside of the knee. If your foot rolls too much to the outside, that's under-pronation, and you're more susceptible to ankle sprains and stress fractures. You can remedy foot pain by compensating for these tendencies, but first you need to determine which way your feet roll.
  
  
  

Try the watermark test:

• Put your feet into a bucket of water, then make footprints on a piece of brown paper. What do your footprints tell you?
  
  
• If your footprint looks like an oblong pancake with toes, you pronate excessively or have flat feet. Try molded-leather arch supports, such as Dr. Scholl's, off the pharmacy shelf. And when shopping for athletic shoes, ask a sales clerk for styles with "control" features -- soles designed to halt that rolling-in motion. If arch supports or sports shoes don't help, see a foot specialist about custom-molded orthotic shoe inserts.
  
  
• If there's little or no connection in your footprint between the front part of the foot and the heel, you under-pronate or have a high arch. This means a lot of your weight is landing on the outside edge of your foot. Ask for "stability" athletic shoes, which are built with extra cushioning to remedy this problem. And if you are prone to ankle sprains, wear high-top athletic shoes that cover the foot and ankle snugly to minimize damage from twists.
  
  
  

The Orthopaedic Distinction

Not all health care providers are alike. Indeed, the more you know about the medical training of those who specialize in providing health care for the foot and ankle, the better equipped you will be to make decisions regarding the health and well being of your two feet.


Education

Orthopaedic surgeons or Podiatrists who specialize in foot and ankle surgery undergo a very extensive educational process. This begins with Medical School. After completion of four years of undergraduate school and obtaining a degree they will complete a four-year medical school curriculum that results in obtaining a medical degree. This medical curriculum covers all facets of medicine including basic and clinical sciences, surgery, internal medicine, pediatrics, family medicine and all other medical specialties. After medical school, the educational process continues to include post-graduate training, commonly referred to as internship and residency. This training program lasts between five and six years. At this point an orthopaedic surgeon is trained and licensed to practice orthopaedic surgery. To further training in foot and ankle surgery, an additional year of fellowship training can be performed which focuses on specifically treating the foot and ankle. These fellowships are performed at many teaching programs in addition to well-established foot and ankle practices around the country.


Accreditation

The accreditation process is also extensive for orthopaedic surgeons who specialize in the treatment of disorders of the foot and ankle. The first requirement is to have an active medical license in the state where the practice activity occurs. To maintain an active medical license the requirements include a diploma from an accredited medical school, satisfactory completion of a national licensing examination (which is taken in three parts), a rigorous application process in each state, which the license is being applied for, and a specified amount of continuing medical educational credits over a specific time period.

For orthopaedic surgery, a board certification process is in place. This requires the orthopaedic surgeon to pass a series of examinations with very stringent criteria which allow him/her to gain board certification status. This includes a written examination as well as an oral examination, which evaluates the physician’s surgical practice and outcomes.


Interaction with other physicians

Orthopaedic surgeons who specialize in treatment of foot and ankle problems are medical doctors who have training in all fields of medicine. They frequently interact with other physicians in various specialties. These include the internist, pediatrician, vascular surgeon, endocrinologist, radiologists, anesthesiologist, and many others. A solid background gained through the medical school curriculum and post-graduate training provides appropriate recognition of significant ongoing medical problems as well as appropriate interaction between physicians of all medical fields in coordinating appropriate care for their patients.

If you have a problem with your foot or ankle, consider a no-charge consultation through H.E.E., Inc., with a highly qualified podiatrist. Call our Foot Hotline today for your complimentary consultation at, (888) 433-9091.

Put your feet in the best hands

Today, one in six Americans have foot pain on a daily basis and 70% will experience foot pain at some point in their life. Pain is your body's way of telling you that something is wrong. We are here to try and help. If you think that it is time for a visit to the doctor for your foot or ankle problem. Put your feet in the best hands.

Information From:

he American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons'

http://www.footcaremd.com/gf_a_shoesaaos.phpWhere does it hurt?