Podiatry

What is podiatry?

Podiatry is the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of all foot and lower limb conditions, injury and care needs.

What conditions can podiatrists treat?

• Foot, joint and biomechanical injury
• Muscular pain, strength, and range of motion
• Bone stress injury – prevention and treatment regimes
• Sport-specific injury or pain
• Full footwear assessment and prescription, including modifications
• Running, walking high frame rate movement analysis
• Kids – growth related pain, developmental issues, posture
• All traditional nail and skin issues, including nail surgery

What do podiatrists do?

Podiatrists generally have a very broad scope of practice. Many of the lower limb and foot injuries that appear in podiatry are the result of abnormalities in biomechanics (the way the physical structure of our bodies works) which may affect the alignment and functionality of the whole body. When treating problems of the foot and leg, podiatrists look to understand the source of pain or injury to provide you with diagnosis and treatment plan. Pain or injury can arise from:

• Poor strength
• Body alignment issues – standing, running, walking, jumping
• Sport-specific stressors
• Work environment stress
• Training or exercise errors
• Poor footwear

What other services do podiatrists offer?

• Liaise with coaches, teachers, employers, footwear providers
• Footwear prescription service and customization
• Transitioning out of orthotics, or prescription of an insert using a range of inexpensive temporary orthotics through to longer-term custom orthotics
• Shock wave therapy
• Ingrown Nail surgery
• Diabetes foot health
• X-Ray, Ultrasound, MRI referral service

Is a GP referral required?

No GP referral is required to see a podiatrist. However, if you are referred on a Chronic Disease Management Program (previously known as Enhanced Primary Care) this referral will need to be brought to your initial appointment.

Can I claim this service as an extra on my health insurance policy?

Podiatry sessions may be claimed on private health insurance depending on your level of cover, please check with your private health insurance provider.