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Parks Therapy Centre

CHIROPODY & PODIATRY

What is Chiropody & Podiatry?

PODIATRY [pod-, from the Greek pous - means foot] is the modern name for Chiropody and Chiropodists are also known as Podiatrists.

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The Chiropody profession changed its name 15 years ago and has continued to expand its field of practice so that, today, Podiatry has applications in Diabetes and Rheumatology care, Sports injuries and Rehabilitation through the use of functional foot orthoses [insoles or orthotics], toenail and Podiatric surgery, Paediatrics and Biomechanics [analysis of the way people walk].

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Podiatrists only know about feet don’t they?

No, as the foot is a part of the body as a whole and it would be impossible to study just the foot. A Podiatrist assesses the foot as a part of the body and will take general anatomy, physiology, structure and function into account when assessing a problem, despite the fact that the pain may only be present in the foot.

What sort of problems can a Podiatrist treat?

There are a wide-range of problems that may be helped by Podiatry e.g.:-

  • Pain in other areas of the body, such as hip, knee and ankle pain and sports injuries such as shin splints and Achilles tendonitis. Not all of these pains can always be helped by the Podiatrist, but if they are being caused or worsened by the way the patient walks, then custom-made insoles may help correct this. Parks Therapy Centre also carries out Biomechanical assessments and gait analysis.

  • Pain in the foot, such as painful heels or arches [plantar fasciitis], painful balls of feet [Morton's neuroma, metatarsalgia], bunions and painful foot joints. These kinds of problems can be helped by way of insoles, padding and footwear changes for example.

  • Pain/deformity of the skin and toenails i.e. fungal, deformed and in-growing toenails, verrucae, corns/callus and athletes foot. Nails can usually be helped by cutting and filing. Verrucae may also be helped by laser therapy.

A list of conditions which may be helped by Podiatry include:-

  • Diabetic foot management

  • Arthritic foot management

  • Cracked heels

  • Sports injuries e.g. heel pad syndrome

  • Hot, sweaty or aching feet

  • Flat feet

  • Skin lesions

  • Problems associated with chronic conditions

  • Heel spur and

  • Plantar Fascitis

  • Ankle

  • Sprain/instability

  • Achilles

  • tendonitis

  • Tarsal tunnel

  • Syndrome

  • Tibialis posterior/peroneal tendonitis/strain

  • Medial gastrocnemius strain

  • Anterior/posterior ankle impingement

  • Osteo-chondral defect ankle/foot

  • Metatarsalgia

  • Hallux

  • Valgus/rigidus

  • Hammer toe

  • Sesamoiditis

  • Bunion

  • Osteoarthritis

Parks Therapy Centre
Parks’ Podiatrists

Parks Therapy Centre has a Podiatrist who is registered with the Health Professions Council [HPC]:-
Sue Letherby CH20519. Parks’ Podiatrists work closely with other practitioners and can recommend referral where appropriate after discussion with the patient.

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