Whenever a doctor says that they do not have the full answer to your particular medical problem so they are going to refer you to a specialist it raises panic alarm bells in most of our heads. Should you be told that you need to consult a Podiatrist in Spring, TX; the word “podiatrist” sounds sort of menacing. However, it is actually far from that.
So, What is a Podiatrist?
At one time, your general practitioner might not have alarmed you anywhere near as much. This is because he or she might have said “you need to visit a chiropodist”. From that, you would have known that you would be going to see some sort of foot specialist; possibly one who deals with the more cosmetic aspects of foot care. Maybe a bit more than just a pedicure – things like removing dead skin or corns, etc.
At one time, chiropody and podiatry were considered more or less the same thing in so much as both of them dealt with problems encountered in the human foot. However, as fully qualified medical doctors and surgeons started to specialize in diagnosis and treatment of lower extremity problems (from knee through ankles to the feet) they felt the need to differentiate themselves with a new name for their speciality that reflected the depth of knowledge and training that chiropodists of that era might not have possessed. This new name was podiatry and it came into use in the early 20th century; however, the two names are still somewhat interchangeable to this day.
What’s So Special About Our Feet?
Without them, we could not stand upright on our own two feet but, did you know that they contain 28 bones with 33 joints powered by 19 muscles through a control system of nerves from the brain acting through numerous tendons so that we can do much more than just stand upright. Furthermore, the whole arrangement runs on oxygen which our hearts pump down to our feet through our circulatory system of arteries and veins. It has to be said that our feet are a remarkable feat of engineering. Maintaining and fixing something this complex definitely requires specialist knowledge, skills and training
Unfortunately, as with any complex machinery, things can get broken, damaged, wear out or malfunction for some reason or another. Whenever something does go wrong with your feet, ankles or lower legs; that is when you should be referred to a Podiatrist in Spring, TX.
