Podiatrists diagnose and treat foot abnormalities and problems. They also advise on good footcare and the prevention of foot problems. In the UK, they should have at least a BSc from a School of Podiatry at a university.

A podiatrist - there's no distinction.  Podiatry is now the more common term, having come to us from the USA.

Spending long periods of time on your feet on hard surfaces such as concrete will eventually take its toll on your feet. Wear shoes with softer, more flexible soles, or insert shock-absorbing insoles. Arch supports can help your feet to distribute pressure more evenly to reduce stress on the heel and forefoot.

What you’ve got is a lazy big toe. Your big toe shoe should push your foot clear of the ground on contact – what it’s doing is letting the other side of your foot absorb a lot of the impact. Over many years, this can lead to knee, hip and even lower back pain. Try exercising your feet (see our tips in Feet Free), choose shoes with plenty of cushioning, or insert insoles to dampen the effect. This will also save you money on new heels and shoes! You should replace heels or shoes when they’re badly worn.

You may have an unusually short Achilles tendon – the tendon that connects your heel to your calf. Your feet feel better in heels because the tendon doesn’t have to stretch so far.

Warts, verrucas, Athlete’s Foot and fungal nails (when your toenails thicken, yellow and crumble). If you have any of these conditions, avoid public changing rooms and swimming pools. Or better still, treat them with the right medicated product. If you have fungal nails, see a doctor.

When you treat Athlete’s Foot with a conventional anti-fungal product, the symptoms (itchiness, skin cracking, redness and scales) tend to disappear before the fungus has been completely eradicated and patients may be tempted to discontinue treatment. You should carry on treating the area for the recommended period. Or better still, use Lamisil Once^®, the only single-application treatment currently available over the counter with a fungicidal active.

 

Also, make sure you practise good foot hygiene (daily washing and careful drying, especially between the toes) and wear natural-fibre socks (cotton) and leather, suede or canvas shoes. And give your feet some breathing time during the day.

Sports that are tough on feet can damage children’s feet if they’re played excessively, and particularly if their shoes or boots don’t fit properly. The bones, ligaments and tendons in kids’ feet and ankles aren’t fully developed yet, and damage (like heel inflammation, Achilles tendonitis and stress fractures) can occur from intensive stress.

 

Don’t be tempted to think that any foot pains your child has are simply ‘growing pains’ – there’s no such thing. Continuing to play with an injury can result in problems that may plague your child into adulthood. See a specialist.

Diabetics often experience numbness in their feet from nerve damage. They can also suffer from low blood supply to the feet. This makes them vulnerable to cuts and blisters, which take longer to heal and even open the door to Athlete’s Foot and other infections.

 

If you have diabetes, it’s important to examine your feet for wounds at least once a week and to get your feet checked at least once a year. Your Practice Nurse or GP may refer you to a podiatrist, who will treat any corns, calluses, ulcers or pressure sores which may have developed.

A verruca is a viral infection, whereas a corn or callus is simply a build-up of dead skin where your foot has been irritated by a badly-fitting shoe. You catch verrucas, but you develop corns.