What is a podiatrist?
September 01, 2015 at 5:46 PM
Ever wondered what a podiatrist is...?
A podiatrist is a health care professional specialising in diagnosis, treatment and prevention of lower limb problems, including those related to long-term conditions such as diabetes and arthritis. We used to be called chiropodists, but that term has now been absorbed as our scope grows.
In New Zealand, AUT is the only University to offer the three year Bachelor of Health Science in Podiatry. All of the Podiatrists at FootSense Podiatry are holders of this degree.The Bachelor program provides papers in human anatomy and physiology, biomechanics and podiatric medicine as well as generic papers where podiatry students work alongside nursing, physiotherapy, psychology and oral health students.
Podiatrists provide a large variety of services to young and old, from routine foot care such as nail cutting, removal of callous and corns and diabetic foot checks through to full biomechanical assessments, orthotic prescriptions, treatment of sports related injuries and nail surgeries.
Podiatrists are quickly becoming a big part of the health care teams for elite athletes in New Zealand. This is due to our extensive and specialist knowledge of the lower limb – we bet you can’t name one elite athlete in NZ who doesn’t use their legs and feet in their sport!
Not only can podiatrists take care of all of your foot care needs, we are also qualified to detect weaknesses or anomalies in your gait – which usually leads to an increase in sports performance. A visit to the podiatrist can also prevent future injuries, as we make sure everything in the chain is working seamlessly.
With 26 bones, 33 joints, 23 muscles and over 150 ligaments making up the complex human foot, it’s worth getting at least an annual check up.
