Information About Podiatrists In Ottawa

By Mattie Knight


When people think of feet, they often think of keeping them soft and free of rough spots, or perhaps adorning them with toe rings or nail polish via a manicure. So few think of the more medical things regarding feet, such as misalignment, athlete's foot or any other number of ailments. Most only think of these things when they begin to feel pain in the feet, which is when podiatrists in Ottawa CA can be of great assistance.

If you have pain or any other issue in your feet, it can affect your whole body. A cramp in one foot can cause you to favor your other foot when walking, which in turn can cause stress to that foot. It can also cause hip pain and spinal pain or injury as well. All of this can possibly be avoided by a visit to a foot doctor who can help you get better before other parts of your body start to suffer.

A common cause of pain is misaligned feet or a bad gait. This means that when you walk, your feet are not in the proper positions, which can cause strain and pain. This can be due to a number of reasons, so a good podiatrist will ask questions. Perhaps you walk improperly, you have a prior injury, or the fix could be as simple as wearing different or better shoes.

Occasionally, the issue is nothing more than wearing shoes that do not fit properly, or are too stiff to let you walk the right way. Sometimes the issue is far deeper and requires surgery. You may need to go to the hospital for the surgery, though some podiatrists can do it in their offices if they have surgical rooms.

Podiatrists often get lots of clientele who have diabetes, because the feet are one of the most important body parts to take care of if you are diabetic. Sharp pains in the nerves of the feet can be caused by peripheral neuropathy, which diabetics often suffer from. In addition, foot rashes, ulcers and other ailments related to this condition can also be treated by a podiatrist.

There are some issues that may seem cosmetic at first but can often cause undue rawness and rubbing on your feet and toes. Corns are a great example of this, because they are unsightly but also can cause pressure due to rubbing against shoes. The same goes for calluses that are really thick. Then there are fungal infections such as athlete's foot that are also troublesome and may require a prescription from your doctor.

As is this list of things a podiatrist can help with is not long enough, there are still many things more to add. Arthritis is a chronic condition that can occur in the feet which podiatrists can help with. If you sprained or strained anything due to a sports injury, they can also give you assistance and advice.

In addition to in office treatments, you may be fitted for orthotics, which are inserts placed into your shoes that can help realign your gait, alleviating stress in your feet, hips and spine. Worn daily, they can really help you get back to a life free of pain.




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