ProPodiatry: Put your best foot forward

The experts at ProPodiatry offer advice on treating numerous foot problems, no matter how small or insignificant you may think they are

ProPodiatry are based on Imperial Square, Cheltenham (Image: Archant)

Feet, the vast majority of us have them but how many of us look after them properly?

They carry us around for the most part without complaint, but when they do hurt, who should you go and see to have your pain sorted? The answer is very simple, the experts in feet; Podiatrists.

You may have never heard of a Podiatrist nor have any inkling of what it is we do, so let us enlighten you.

A Podiatrist is an individual who has completed a university degree in Podiatry accruing over a 1,000 clinical hours in various clinical settings. We study a wide range of subjects including anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, microbiology, medicine, bio-mechanics, application of local anaesthesia to name a few. But why do we need to know so much when all we treat are feet?

As Podiatrists we don’t look at the feet in isolation, they are attached to the rest of us and whatever issues may be occurring elsewhere in the body it will have a direct impact on them.

ProPodiatry can help you with numerous foot problems (c) JACK BOSKETT / www.jackboskett.co.uk (Image: www.jackboskett.co.uk)

By far the biggest health issue currently is diabetes, many people are unaware that they have developed it as the symptoms and effects can be so insidious. According to Diabetes UK 1 in every 16 people may have diabetes whether they know it or not, costing the NHS a staggering £10 billion pounds per year.

Our Podiatrists at ProPodiatry screen every new client we see with a neurological and vascular assessment, as diabetes can affect the small nerves and the tiny blood vessels found in the feet.

Diabetes is such an issue because the consequences of ignoring it can be life-altering with the potential risk of limb amputation. As Podiatrists in private practice we routinely treat diabetic patients, give advice on how best to care for their feet and deal with some of the complications that can arise such as the development of ulcers. It is important to note that as private practitioners we are also trained to recognise when we need to refer on to the multidisciplinary teams within the NHS.

The Podiatrists at ProPodiatry can help you with numerous foot problems, no matter how small or insignificant you may think it is. Whatever is important to you is important to us. For example, the inability to reach your feet can be frustrating and uncomfortable when your nails are so long they hurt when you put on shoes. The relief on patients’ faces when we carry out a simple nail cut is priceless. We try and provide a solution to every problem.

(c) ProPodiatry (Image: Archant)

We have had patients attending appointments on the verge of tears because they are so ashamed of their nails, they never show them to anyone. We can construct a normal looking nail using a special resin and they leave crying with joy. We can never underestimate the psychological effect of what we do as Podiatrists.

Other common problems which affect our patients are things such as verrucae and fungally infected nails we can offer innovative, modern treatments to tackle these problems using therapies such as microwave treatment for verrucae or cold laser treatment for fungally infected nails.

If your feet hurt this can cause you to limp which can affect your whole skeleton.

Podiatrists solve problems every day and in doing so we make our patients happy and comfortable.

If you have a problem with your feet check out our website or contact us at ProPodiatry to make an appointment to see one of our Podiatrists and we will see if we can solve your problem.

Find ProPodiatry in:

Cheltenham: The Basement, 4 Imperial Square, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL50 1QB / 01242 317094

Tewkesbury : 8 Barton Street, Tewkesbury, GL20 5PP / 01684 296884

propodiatry.co.uk