Podiatrist? Chiropodist? Feet Doctors? Foot and Ankle Surgeon? Lower Extremity Specialist?
Wound Care Specialist? Doctor of Podiatric Medicine?
A Podiatrist is a foot and ankle physician who provides both surgical and medical treatment options for their patients. They are lower extremity professionals who diagnose and treat an array of lower extremity pathology.
Podiatrists complete four years of podiatric medical school, followed by three years of hospital residency training. Podiatry hospital residency training covers a variety of fields (Vascular Surgery, Pathology, Radiology, General Surgery, etc), but the main focus is on lower extremity medical and surgical intervention.
Everyday foot and ankle pain should not be accepted as normal. Our feet and ankles sustain constant weight and pressure throughout the day while we are ambulating. Our feet are complicated intricate structures that are made of 26 bones, 33 joints, and over one hundred tendons, muscles, and ligaments. Foot and ankle pain can alter the way we walk, affect our daily lives, be uncomfortable, or even be an indicator of a more serious underlying condition.
Our lower extremities are also made up of blood vessels, skin, and toenails. Yellow toenails and other changes might be caused by fungal infections, bacterial infections, trauma, ingrown toenails, or other pathology. Discoloration to our skin may be caused by circulation issues, injury, infection, or a serious underlying condition.
