the singing podiatrist.com

the foot stuff

foot problems

If there is excitement for me in practicing podiatry, it stems from several factors. One - the huge variety of foot problems that walk into my office keeps me on my toes; two - the huge variety of personalities that come with the foot problems provides a never ending stream of delightful and complex people.

Foot problems are generally easy to fix. They tend to be limited (usually) to a small anatomical area of the body. There are only so many things that can go wrong with feet. Of course, there are times when a foot problem is actually a blood flow problem or a neurological disorder or a systemic illness. But, the vast majority of foot problems the average podiatrist sees are just foot problems.

The variety of things that can go wrong is far more vast (and fascinating) than you could imagine. The simplest thing a podiatrist treats - a corn - for example could also be a wart; it could be a plugged sweat duct; it could be covering an ulceration; it could be caused by improper shoes, bony prominences, excess foot pronation, chronic pain which causes a shifting of weight in the foot; it could be treated by a variety of options or it may never go away. If it is misdiagnosed as a wart and treated with liquid nitrogen repeatedly, it could leave you with a permanent scar, which is worse than a corn and a wart.

If you have a foot problem or another problem that you think may be related to your feet you have a few options. Waiting and seeing is the most favoured option for people. If the problem persists, you will likely ask your family and friends what they think. You may buy new shoes and ask the shoe salesperson what he thinks. Eventually you may see your family doctor and perhaps along the way ask your massage therapist, chiropractor or other health care giver. If the foot problem is solved - excellent! If not, consider seeing your local podiatrist. Speaking for myself, after seeing over 10,000 pairs of feet - I can confidently say that I've seen almost everything at least once, some things several times and most things hundreds or thousands of times. Quoting from my song, The Good Foot Doctor Blues......... "I'd say for being a foot doctor, I've got a flare."