By Rosella Campbell


Podiatry is one of the branches of the medicine profession. It places more emphasis on human movement and medically caring for ankles, feet, and lower extremities. Podiatrists refer to the medical experts whose work is studying and medically caring for lower extremity in humans. In the United States, the distribution of these specialists is even allowing easy access to services by the public. Any podiatrist near Boulder is in a position to supply professional care for lower extremities. Other names for these practitioners are podiatric surgeons, doctors, or physician.

Doctors of podiatric medicine are well specialized in diagnosing, preventing, and treating foot conditions, diseases, injuries, and disorders. Their work allows them to provide independent judgment and order and/or apply many different diagnostic tests. Most diseases manifest first signs through feet, which puts these doctors in a unique position to identify them on time. In people who lack access to podiatric help, such signs normally go unnoticed.

Podiatrists have a wide scope of practice which varies with the geographical or demographical area one is located in. The job involves working with other medical professionals in the society as part of a team. Some of the tasks performed by a podiatric expert include prescribing medications, performing surgical procedures, treating sports related injuries, and setting fractures. Podiatrists may also perform or order physical therapies and fit or prescribe customized shoes, insoles, or orthotics.

Diagnosis involves taking and interpreting results from X-rays and other imaging studies. A podiatrist may also need to do full physical examination and medical history to get deeper insight into a disease. These practitioners need license to perform full physical examination and medical history.

Practitioners with extra training, experience, and expertise can care for and preserve diabetic feet by performing full or partial amputation. Amputations are meant to avoid further loss of the limb or life. They have the authority to order and administer sedatives and anesthesia although this is an area covered by certified nurse anesthetist or an anesthesiologist. The commonly used form of sedation is intravenous (IV) sedation.

Qualifying to become a podiatrist involves training for many years, tests, and hospital-based residency. Admission into podiatric medical school is possible at graduate or undergraduate level depending on the jurisdiction of the institution. In podiatric schools, the first two years involve general courses similar to those of students taking medicine. Specialization starts at third year and extends into the fourth year which is also the final year in most cases.

Although hospital-based residency training takes two years in most cases, it can last longer. Among the areas podiatrists are trained in include general pathology, human gait, general medicine, pharmacology, non-surgical foot care techniques, surgical techniques, and general anesthesia. Surgical procedures include enucleation, cryotherapy, partial or full nail avulsions, wound debridement, cutaneous procedures, electro-surgical methods, and matricectomy. This training equips them with knowledge that allows them to handle a variety of foot problems.

Branches in Podiatry include sports medicine, podiatric rheumatology, orthopedic, medical physician, vascular specialist, neuro-podiatrist, and gerentological podiatrist among others. One can specialize in one or several branches according to their level of training. Those who specialize in sports medicine must always accompany their clients to games.




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