# Podiatrist Examining the Foot and Ankle in Clinical Practice ![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/BJAKtFYv3.png) Feet and ankle problems are a common source of worry, pain, and inability to move. People in this situation can go to a doctor in **[Kingsgrove podiatrist](https://standtallpodiatry.au/kingsgrove/)** for help. Experts in the field can identify and treat many different foot and ankle conditions. A podiatrist can help you if you have foot problems like bunions or hammertoes. First, we'll talk about some modern ways to treat foot and joint problems. The piece then talks about how important podiatrists are in modern medicine. Finally, it looks at the structure, function, and biomechanics of the foot and ankle. # Take care of your feet and ankles. # Doctors who focus on the feet and legs are called podiatrists. They look for problems, fix them, and try to stop them from happening. They're important because they help people stay busy and on their feet, which is good for the health of the feet as a whole. Podiatrists are doctors whose main job is to identify and treat problems with their patients' feet and ankles. This process usually includes looking at the patient's walk, feeling for pain or stiffness, and checking the patient's circulation, skin, and nails. When podiatrists find a problem with a person's feet or legs, they come up with different ways to treat each person. These methods may include shoe suggestions and orthotic devices meant to fix biomechanical problems that are causing your foot problems, as well as physical therapy movements meant to improve flexibility and strength in the affected area. # Podiatrist's Role in Foot Movement # The foot and ankle are carefully made to support our whole body weight and make it easy to move. Podiatrists can't give their patients the care they need if they don't understand the foot and ankle's biomechanics and chemistry. The foot has more than twenty-six bones and more than a hundred muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Its main job is to keep the body in balance while reducing the effects of movement. The natural arches of the foot work like shock cushions by spreading pressure across the whole foot. The ankle joint is a flexible link between the bones of the leg and the bones of the foot. It lets you point your toes down, flip your foot over, turn your sole inward, and turn your foot outward (dorsiflexion and plantarflexion, respectively). **[Different podiatric](https://www.apma.org/podiatristsFAQ)** methods can be used to treat different foot and ankle problems. As part of conservative treatment, non-surgical methods like custom orthotics, physical therapy, changing how you do things, and making changes to your shoes are often used. Without using invasive treatments, these therapies can help ease pain and make it easier to move around. If non-invasive treatments don't work, a doctor may suggest surgery. Depending on the problem, the foot and ankle may need surgery, such as a bunionectomy, hammertoe correction, arthroscopy, fracture repair, Achilles tendon repair, or ankle replacement. # Podiatrists also use regenerative medicine methods like Platelet Rich # Plasma Therapy (PRP), which uses the patient's own blood cells to speed up the healing of soft tissues like tendons and ligaments. Foot problems like bunions, hammertoes, and others People of any age can feel pain from foot problems like bunions, hammertoes, and others. A bunion is a hard bump that can form on the joint at the base of the big toe. When the joint between the big toe and the second toe moves out of place, bunions show up. But hammertoes happen when the muscles or nerves that help your toes move get out of balance. The most common kinds of foot malformation are claw toes and mallet toes. Claw toes happen when you have a muscle imbalance that causes one or more of your smaller toes to bend up while the others point down. Mallet's toes are a deformity that happens when one or both of a toe's joints are always bent down. # The Next Steps and Breakthroughs in Podiatric Medicine # In the area of **[Podiatry in Lakemba](https://dribbble.com/shots/21753946-Examining-The-Foot-And-Ankle-in-Clinical-Practice-With-Podiatris?added_first_shot=true)**, new tools and methods are always being made. The way podiatric care is given is likely to keep getting better in the future. One area that has already made a lot of progress is regenerative medicine. Plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendinitis may be helped a lot by this strategy, which includes using stem cells and other ways to repair damaged tissue. Another hopeful new trend is the use of 3D printing to make orthotics and prosthetics that are one-of-a-kind. Patients who have problems with their feet and ankles may do better if they have this choice for a highly customized fit.