Podiatry
Foot, Ankle & Lower Leg Health
What’s a Podiatrist?
A podiatrist is a doctor who specializes primarily in addressing foot health, as well as the ankles or associated lower leg structures. Doctors of podiatric medicine (DPM) are medical specialists who help to treat injuries, provide preventative care, and manage complications of chronic illnesses and diseases that may impact or manifest in the feet, ankles, and lower legs.
Key Points About Podiatrists
- Podiatrists (DPMs) specialize in foot, ankle, and lower leg health
- Complete 4 years of podiatric medical school + 3–4 years residency
- Treat injuries, chronic conditions, and foot/ankle complications from illnesses like diabetes
- Common specialties: wound care, sports medicine, pediatrics, surgery, orthotics
- Certified by the American Board of Foot & Ankle Surgery or Podiatric Medicine
Is a Podiatrist an MD?
Similar to traditional medical doctors (MDs), DPMs complete four years of podiatric medical school. They then complete an additional three to four years of residency training for foot and ankle medicine and surgery. Their educational training is highly focused on studying the anatomy and physiology of the lower leg. This includes understanding the bones, musculature, neural pathways, skin integrity, circulatory systems and processes, and more required to support the health of the foot, ankle, and related structures. DPM education also includes learning about common injuries, illnesses, and diseases that may impact foot, ankle, and lower leg health as well as the methods of evaluating, diagnosing, and addressing these medical issues. While podiatrists are not medical doctors (MDs), they are highly trained and certified in their field.
After residency, podiatrists may choose to complete fellowship training to further specialize their practice areas if desired.
Examples of common specialty areas include the following:
- Wound care
- Diabetic care
- Orthotics
- Pediatrics
- Geriatrics
- General or reconstructive surgery
- Neurological foot conditions
- Circulatory foot conditions
- Infectious or inflammatory diseases
- Sports medicine
All podiatrists are also required to obtain board certification by completing their educational and clinical training and by passing an examination. The field recognizes exams offered by one of two certifying boards, the American Board of Ankle and Foot Surgery (ABAFS) or the American Board of Podiatric Medicine (ABPM).
What Does a Podiatrist Do?
Podiatrists play a vital role in preserving the health and quality of life for the patients, especially considering the foot alone houses 26 bones, 33 joints, and over 100 muscles that are used daily.
Podiatric doctors evaluate, diagnose, and treat injuries, illnesses, and related conditions that impact foot, ankle, and lower leg health.
DPMs may perform a variety of medical interventions including:
- Surgical interventions
- Medication prescriptions
- Joint aspirations or steroid injections
- Imaging and laboratory test orders
- Broken bone setting
- Rehabilitative therapy recommendations
- Orthotics and braces prescriptions
- Specialized footwear recommendations
Additional details on specific conditions and interventions are included below.
When Should I See a Podiatrist?
There are many reasons that may warrant a visit with a podiatrist. Perhaps most obvious, if you are experiencing any abnormal symptoms or sensations in your toes, feet, ankles, or lower legs, it may be time to seek podiatric care.
Possible signs and symptoms of podiatry-related health issues may include but are not limited to the following:
- Pain, numbness, or tingling
- Cracks, cuts, discoloration, or wounds of the skin
- Changes in the anatomy of the toes, foot, ankle, or lower leg
- Difficulty, discomfort, or pain with movement
- Toenail discoloration or malformations
- Scabbing or scaling of the soles
- Warts or other growths
- Swelling
This list is not exhaustive as each patient experiences a unique set of signs and symptoms that may indicate a wide variety of potential injuries, illnesses, or diseases of the foot, ankle, or lower leg.
Any symptoms that are different from your usual health, are causing you discomfort, or are impacting your quality of life in some other way may benefit from visiting a doctor of podiatric medicine. Additionally, routine visits for preventative care are an adequate and prudent reason for getting established with a podiatrist. Particularly for people with chronic health diseases or other risk factors for developing podiatric conditions, preventative podiatric care can help preserve health and quality of life.
Ask your doctor if you believe you may benefit from podiatric care.
What Can I Expect on my First Podiatry Appointment?
Like most other doctors' appointments with a new provider, your first visit will likely begin with your podiatrist and care team getting to know your prior and current medical history. They will ask questions to understand your prior medical conditions, prior procedures and surgeries, current medications, any recent imaging (e.g. x-rays, MRIs, etc.), family history, and other aspects of your current or previous health conditions. Additionally, your podiatrist will also take time to ask about the reason for your visit to understand the issues or concerns you would like treated.
You can also expect a physical examination of your feet, ankles, and lower legs during your first podiatry visit. Your DPM will visually inspect the skin, external structures, and other observable features. They may perform basic manual manipulation or other screenings to evaluate your joint mobility, sensation, swelling, and other functions.
Depending on your concerns and your initial examination, the podiatrist may order additional lab tests or imaging to help determine a diagnosis or to inform their treatment recommendations. These tests and imaging may be done in the office itself or outsourced to a testing or imaging center depending on the type and availability of those resources within that specific doctor's office or practice setting.
After collecting all the necessary information, your podiatrist will provide you with a diagnosis, explain their treatment recommendations, and recommend a schedule for follow-up visits to monitor progress as needed.
What Conditions Can a Podiatrist Diagnose?
Podiatrists are trained to treat a wide array of conditions. Common conditions addressed may include:
- Bursitis
- Tendonitis
- Ingrown toenails
- Fungal or other infections
- Arthritis (Osteo- or Rheumatoid)
- Bunions, warts, or other growths
- Neuromas or other sources of neuralgia (nerve pain)
- Hammertoes, flat feet, Charcot arthropathy, or other lower leg anatomy issues
- Plantar fasciitis, stress fractures, bone spurs, and other sources of heel pain
- Sports injuries such as ligament or tendon injuries, shin splints, or athlete's foot
- Fractures, sprains, or strains of the musculoskeletal and connective tissues (e.g., bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, or synovial joint tissues)
- Management of diabetes or other chronic disease complications (e.g., skin care, neuropathy, etc.)
These diagnoses and condition examples are just a few of the many conditions that can be managed by your podiatrist. Ask your physician about podiatric care if you have received one of these diagnoses, or are experiencing another foot health-related condition. Remember, any pain or discomfort, swelling, or discoloration in the foot is atypical and is worth having a podiatrist evaluate to see if you could benefit from podiatric care.
What Treatment Can a Podiatrist Provide?
The extensive number of treatments that can be provided is reflective of the wide array of conditions managed by doctors of podiatric medicine. Ranging from surgery to therapies to specialized footwear, podiatrists have an extensive toolbox of treatment options available to support podiatric health and quality of life for their patients.
Examples of treatments that may be provided by your podiatrist include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Setting broken bones
- Prescribing medications
- Giving steroid injections
- Performing wound debridement
- Performing arthroscopy or joint aspirations
- Removing warts, calluses, or other growths
- Prescribing orthotics and braces
- Prescribing specialty compression stockings or footwear
- Performing surgery to remove bunions, bone spurs, or tumors
- Performing surgery for fracture repairs or anatomy corrections
- Recommending rehabilitative therapist (e.g., physical or occupational therapy)
Each patient will have a unique set of concerns, prior medical history considerations, and preferences influencing their care. Your podiatrist will collaborate with you to find the treatment options that best fit your wants and needs for care.
Podiatrist vs Orthopedist: What's the Difference?
Like many medical specialties, podiatrists and orthopedists share some similarities across their practice areas. Both are experts in supporting foot and ankle health using surgical and nonsurgical techniques. However, some differences between podiatry and orthopedic doctors exist.
Orthopedists undergo different educational and medical training than their DPM counterparts. Orthopedists are medical doctors (MDs) who must complete four years of traditional medical school with an additional five years of orthopedic surgical residency. Unlike podiatrists, orthopedists are trained to address all areas of the musculoskeletal system beyond the foot and lower leg, meaning they may also address the spine, hips, knees, shoulders, elbows, and more. Similar to doctors of podiatric medicine, orthopedists must also pass a board certification exam to finalize their training.
Some orthopedic doctors choose to specialize in foot and ankle medicine and surgery by completing a one-year fellowship. These foot and ankle orthopedic specialists share many similarities to podiatrists in terms of their common conditions and treatments. Differences in diagnoses treated or procedures performed are sometimes dictated by state guidelines that outline scopes of practice for each specialty. Even if that is the case, podiatrists and orthopedists often still work closely together to collaborate on a patient case.
Because podiatrists and orthopedists are highly collaborative when addressing foot, ankle, and lower leg care, it is ultimately up to the patient’s comfort with their doctor and preferences for care when choosing a doctor for foot pain. If you are seeking a care provider for your foot and lower leg health, feel confident in asking all questions you have and even meet with more than one doctor if you are not sure who to see.
Your podiatrist can help to answer questions and provide recommendations to make a decision that feels right for you and your health.
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