How to Prevent Disease through your Feet with Podiatry
- Apr 7
- 2 min read
Understanding how a podiatrist can help, the ways your feet can predict overall health issues, and why foot care is a vital component of your well-being.
What is a podiatrist?
Podiatrists are doctors specializing in medical foot issues. Some of the more common issues addressed by podiatrists include:
● Ingrown toenails
● Abnormalities such as corns, bunions, or warts
● Toe or toenail deformities
● Foot and ankle injuries
● Thick or overgrown calluses
● Arthritis
● Mobility issues
● Diabetic foot management
Most podiatrists will also work with other related doctors, like orthopedists, if you need specific care or potential surgery.
What do my feet have to do with my overall health?
We don’t think about our feet a lot, but humans spend about 1,600 hours on their feet every year. For 1600 hours, our feet absorb shock from movement, keep us balanced, support our body weight, and allow us to move from one location to another.
Because we put so much pressure on our feet throughout our lives, they can tell us a lot about our day-to-day health. How much are we straining? How is our circulation? How are we managing our weight? How is our alignment? Are we receiving all the necessary nerve signals?
Our feet can be a warning system for our entire body, which is what makes podiatry so important.
How can a podiatrist help diagnose disease?
Podiatrists can use your feet to look for symptoms of underlying disease. Not every symptom always means a diagnosis, but things like swelling, concentrated pain, extreme temperature, numbness, or tingling can be signs of larger medical issues.
Many parasites can also find their way into the body through the feet, making foot hygiene and checkups extremely important.
Possibly the most important disease podiatrists can help with is diabetes. Those with diabetes sometimes struggle to feel temperature or pain in their extremities, making them more likely not to notice infections, cuts, and even nerve pinching. A podiatrist can help manage diabetic foot care and prevent serious injury development.
To see a podiatrist near you, start with a referral from your primary care doctor.
SAC Health is proud to now offer dedicated podiatry services to our community. If you are a current patient, you can call 909-382-7100 to learn how to obtain a referral to our podiatry department. If you are not yet a member of our health family and would like to become a patient, please visit www.sachealth.org/patients to get started.
