All hail the Podiatrist
Part of being an Osteopath - or a holistic practitioner - is to know when to refer a patient on to someone who may be able to assist them in a greater capacity. The perfect example of this is for the feet.
It has only been over the past couple of years that we have really started to understand the power and knowledge of Podiatry. Osteopaths are considered to be musculoskeletal experts meaning they are trained to assess, treat and diagnose any musculoskeletal condition that enters the clinic room. However, over the past couple of years with a lot of help from our friends at Pro Feet Podiatry, we have come to understand just how important the feet really are.
Podiatrists are feet specialists. They are experts in the field of feet. They know feet like you know the back of your hand. If a patient presents to the Osteo clinic with a complaint related to feet, we no doubt will do our best to assess and treat the area if it is indicated. However, if the complaint does not resolve, we will without hesitation refer them to the legends that change lives through treating feet.
One of the hardest things to learn as a health practitioner is to recognise and when you can’t help someone at that time. One of the greatest skills is knowing when to refer one of your patients to someone who may be able to help them more specifically. This forms one smaller piece of a very big puzzle. This doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t EVER help them, but at that stage of their presentation, they need help elsewhere. This can often be the case when it comes to the feet, and can actually provide more efficient and effective results.
As discussed last week in Happy Feet, the feet are the first point of contact for load transmission through the body. If the feet are not functioning optimally the foundation for everything else above the feet becomes greatly compromised. This can lead to seemingly unrelated injuries including knee, hip, pelvic and spinal pain.
A Podiatrist will work to ensure that a person’s feet are doing their job by transmitting force efficiently through the legs. This gives that person the best chance at having optimal lower extremity biomechanics. This provides the lower back and pelvis (or ‘lumbo-pelvic girdle’) a solid foundation. If that person then presents with lower back or pelvic pain, we can be assured that it is not necessarily stemming from the feet, but most likely a more direct problem relating to the lumbo-pelvic girdle.
If a solid foundation is built and maintained, then you are on the road to a strong, healthy, injury-free body. There are many health professionals that can work really well alongside one another, and the Osteopath-Podiatrist relationship is no exception to this.
If this team care approach sounds like something you need, then don’t hesitate to get in contact with us or book an appointment online below. If you’re after a brilliant Podiatrist whom you can whole-heartedly trust, then look no further than the team at Pro Feet Podiatry.
