Podiatry in Sutherland

What is podiatry?

Podiatry is an allied health profession that specialises on the foot, ankle and leg.  A Podiatrist has spent 4 years doing an undergraduate degree, so that when they graduate, they can deal with diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and prevention of lower limb disorders.

You will walk 128,000 kilometres during your lifetime, so you can see why 75-80 per cent of adults will suffer from lower limb problems at some time during their lifetime. And consider that each foot has 26 bones, 33 joints and a layer of 126 intertwining foot muscles, ligaments and nerves, this part of your body is an amazing piece of machinery, but as with most machinery, it does break down over a period of time.

As medicine and nutrition have improved in the last 100 years, we are living longer, and getting heavier, foot pain is on the increase.  Also, if you think about it, everywhere you walk is hard and flat, like concrete, or asphalt, our feet were designed to walk in fields, sand, and other undulating surfaces, so we are seeing more and more foot and leg pain because of the increased forces that our feet receive.

Foot and leg pain are not normal and should never be ignored.  This is your body’s way of saying there is something wrong.  The problem is, most people will ignore these signs thinking they will go away, and as a general rule, if pain has not resolved by itself within a few days, then it should be checked out by the appropriate professional, and no-one knows the foot and leg like a Podiatrist.