If so you must have a diabetic foot check at least every 6-12 months. The podiatrist will perform a thorough check to see if the nerves or circulation in your feet have been affected. The key is to detect the changes early before they lead to more dire consequences. Watch below our podiatrist performing a sensation test on a diabetic foot.
Why see a Podiatrist?
Podiatrists are trained to assess, treat and manage everything related to the foot, ankle and lower limb.
Do you have a toenail or skin problem (corns, callouses) that needs attention?
Do you have diabetes & need a diabetic foot check?
Are you experiencing pain in your heel?
Do your knees or back hurt when you are standing?
Do your kids ‘in-toe’ or ‘out-toe’?
Are you having trouble safely trimming your thickened toenails?
What services do the Podiatrists provide?
Skin and toenail care
Unable to cut your nails at home? Have your nails become thick and brittle? Do you have corns & calluses? Maybe your heels are very dry and cracked? Regular maintenance every 6 weeks is recommended.
Customised orthotics
Do you have flat feet? Do you experience knee or hip pain? Have you noticed your feet become sore after walking or sports? Are your toes beginning to curl up? Do you notice if your bunion becoming more pronounced?
We will perform a biomechanical assessment on you to first determine your need for orthotics. Afterwards, we will use the most advanced foot scanning device to take a digital mould of your feet, before sending them off to our orthotic laboratory.
The great news is that health insurance rebates also apply to customised as well as off-the-shelf orthotics.
Assessing your child’s foot development
Are you worried about any changes in your child’s stance? Are they very clumsy? Do you notice they walk or run differently? Are they complaining about sore feet after school? Are they in-toeing or out-toeing?
Rest assured most children’s feet are fine. However, if you are concerned and want to take preventative measures we can easily accommodate this. The earlier any foot abnormalities are detected the better the outcome.
Diabetes assessments
Are you experiencing any numbness or tingling in your feet? Are your feet really cold? A cut not healing? Recently diagnosed with diabetes?
Nail surgery & Injections
Do you have a persistent in-grown toenail that keeps getting infected? Conservative treatments are simply not working?
A podiatrist can perform in-room surgery to remove part of your nail. This is performed under a local anaesthetic and will require a longer appointment time.
Also if you suffer from chronic heel pain which has not ressolved with conservative measures, it may require a cortisone injection. This is a simple procedure which is done in-room with very little risk and down time.
For both nail surgery and injectables, you will first of all need an assessment and then you will be given a quotation.
Bunion management
Notice that your big toe is starting to encroach on your other toes? Starting to find that shoes are not accommodating your bunion?
The nature of a bunion is that the changes are coming from the changes in the big toe joint. The best form of management is either custom-made orthotics, plus or minus the use of toe spacers as well as changes in footwear. If your bunion is very advanced, we may need to refer you to a podiatric surgery for an opinion.
Footwear advice
Do you need help finding the right shoe? Not sure what type of shoe is appropriate for feet in late adulthood? Or alternatively, need advice on what shoe is best for your child?
A podiatrist will be able to confidently guide you and recommended specific shoes to suit your feet. This is especially important as good footwear is a bedrock of maintaining healthy feet.
Management of heel & arch pain
Are you feeling sore in the arches of you feet? Do you wake up each morning and experience pain when you first start walking straight out of bed? Are you feet becoming sore after long days standing or simply from walking?
If so a podiatrist can first of all perform a biocmechanical foot assessment to ascertain the source of your heel pain. They then may prescribe orthotics and exercises combined with footwear advice to aid your recovery.
In more chronic or severe situations a cortisone injection (which can be performed in-chair) may be indicated.
Your Podiatry Team