A Few Things That You Need to Know About Foot Specialists
A Foot Specialist is also referred to as a Podiatrist. They are basically physicians who specialize in problems related to the foot and ankle. People often do not know much or anything about Podiatrists until they have to visit them for treatment. There are a few things that people should know about before visiting a Podiatrist.
What are the different kinds of foot specialist?
Foot Specialists can be divided into three main types – podiatric surgeons, podiatric physicians, and podiatrists.
All these different types of specialist have finished their education in order to become qualified in this type of medicine. Podiatric qualifications will often be indicated by abbreviations following the specialists name, such as ‘DPM’. As far as the basic education is concerned there is no difference at all between these types of specialist. The different names on their nameplates are essentially meant to convey the kind of care that they specialize in.
They have different kind of specializations, such as:
- geriatric podiatry
- pediatric podiatry
- primary care
- surgical podiatry
- sports medicine
What kind of education do they receive?
Just as with medical doctors, podiatrists undergo four years of training when they are undergraduates.
This is followed by four further years of graduate schooling. This period of education is normally completed at medical colleges that specialise in podiatry. After their formal education is done they spend several years working as trainees and resident doctors in hospitals. This is part of their postgraduate education.
Can they deal with issues in other parts of the body?
The answer to this is basically dependent on the particular area where the specialist is practicing. For example, in some states of the United States of America (USA) these doctors are only allowed to treat your feet and nothing else.
In some states they can treat the feet and ankle. In other states a podiatrist can also treat ailments above the ankle as well.
Can they help patients who have severe illness?
Yes, Foot Specialists are capable of offering critical care. In fact, most of the people who visit these specialists are suffering from the chronic forms of their respective ailments. It is possible that the ailments in questions are making a direct impact on the condition of their feet.
It could also be the case that ailments are causing complications that are affecting the patient’s feet. For example there is a link between diabetes and peripheral neuropathy. If it is not handled the right way it can lead to the patient’s feet being amputated.
When you are buying a health insurance plan do check if it covers visits to podiatric specialists or not.
