What is podiatry?
Podiatry is a medical specialty that focuses on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of conditions affecting the feet, ankles, and lower limbs.
What is a podiatrist?
A podiatrist is a healthcare professional who looks after the health of your feet, ankles, and lower legs.
What does a podiatrist do?
A podiatrist helps with a wide range of foot and ankle problems from gait issues in children and adults to sports injuries, ongoing foot pain, and other conditions that affect how you move. Treatments they may perform include custom foot orthoses, ankle foot supports, exercises, and gait retraining to improve comfort and mobility.
Podiatrists also carry out minor, in office procedures such as treating ingrown toenails, removing warts or skin lesions, giving soft tissue injections, caring for wounds, or removing foreign objects from your foot. More complex bone and reconstructive surgeries are performed by specialised podiatric surgeons with advanced surgical training.
What can podiatrists diagnose?
Podiatrists can diagnose a wide range of foot, ankle, and lower leg problems. This includes issues like heel and arch pain, sports injuries, ingrown toenails, skin and nail conditions, gait problems, arthritis, and complications related to diabetes. They assess your feet, skin, nails, or joints to identify what’s causing your symptoms and how best to treat them.
How do podiatrists diagnose foot problems?
Podiatrists diagnose foot problems by examining how your feet look, move, and function. They may watch you walk, check your joints and muscles, assess your skin and nails, and ask about your symptoms and daily activities. When needed, they can use tools such as pressure mapping, gait analysis, ultrasound, or X rays to get a clearer picture of what’s causing your pain or discomfort.
What conditions does a podiatrist treat?
The conditions treated by Podiatrists vary, but, in general:
What is the most common problem treated by a podiatrist?
The most common problem treated by a podiatrist is foot and heel pain, especially conditions like plantar fasciitis. It’s one of the leading reasons people seek podiatry care because it can make walking, standing, and daily activities uncomfortable.
Podiatrists also frequently treat issues like ingrown toenails, corns and calluses, sports injuries, and gait‑related problems, but heel pain is usually the number‑one complaint people come in with.
When should I book to see a podiatrist?
You should book to see a podiatrist whenever you have foot, ankle, or lower‑leg pain that isn’t improving, or if something doesn’t look or feel right.
Common reasons include ongoing heel or arch pain, ingrown toenails, skin or nail problems, sports injuries, changes in the way you walk, or difficulty standing or moving comfortably.
If pain is affecting your daily activities, keeps coming back, or you’re worried about a new symptom, a podiatrist can assess what’s going on and help you get back to moving comfortably.
Preparing to see a podiatrist
When attending your first appointment, it’s important that you take with you:
- some shorts or suitable clothing so that your podiatrist can properly assess your lower limbs
- a selection of shoes you would normally wear
- any orthoses or braces you have previously been provided with
- details of any previous or current medical treatment.
Podiatry Services at Ramsay Health Care
Ramsay Health Care offers fast and convenient appointments with one of our expert podiatrists.
Podiatrist costs are often covered as part of private medical insurance cover. If you intend to see a Podiatrist using your medical insurance, it is very important to check with the insurer the level of cover provided, as it can vary widely. A number of insurers will cover your appointments, but very few will pay for foot orthoses and other appliances. Some insurers also require a referral from a GP or Consultant before cover is provided.
If you are paying for yourself, we offer a variety of payment options including finance options.
