Type your paragraph here.A podiatrist is a medical specialist who focuses on the foot, ankle, and related structures of the lower leg, including skin, nails, bones, joints, tendons, ligaments, and biomechanics in that region. In most of the U.S., podiatrists are licensed as podiatric physicians and surgeons and can provide both medical and surgical care for many foot and ankle problems.
Education and Training
Podiatrists earn a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM) degree after completing four years of podiatric medical school, which follow a typical four-year undergraduate degree with science prerequisites. Early podiatry school emphasizes basic medical sciences (anatomy, physiology, microbiology, pathology, pharmacology), and later years focus on clinical sciences and patient care in clinics and hospitals.
After the DPM, graduates complete a 3–4 year, hospital-based residency in podiatric medicine and surgery, where they train in areas such as general medicine, surgery, orthopedics, biomechanics, wound care, and diabetic limb preservation. Many also pursue optional 1–2 year fellowships in subspecialties like reconstructive foot and ankle surgery, sports medicine, or wound care.
What Podiatrists Do
Podiatrists diagnose and treat a wide range of conditions affecting the foot and ankle, including arthritis, tendon and ligament problems, sports injuries, fractures, plantar fasciitis, bunions, hammertoes, ingrown toenails, corns, calluses, and nail and skin disorders. They also manage foot complications related to systemic diseases such as diabetes and peripheral vascular disease, including diabetic foot ulcers and limb-salvage care.
Care can include medication, orthotics and bracing, physical therapy, minor in-office procedures, and surgery on bones and soft tissues of the foot and often the ankle. In many states podiatrists’ scope clearly includes the ankle and sometimes structures just above it, although exact scope and anesthesia rules vary by state law.
Subspecialties and Focus Areas
Within podiatry, many clinicians focus on areas such as sports medicine, diabetic limb preservation, wound care, pediatric foot conditions, geriatric foot care, or reconstructive surgery. Some podiatrists practice primarily as medical and biomechanical specialists (orthotics, gait analysis, chronic conditions), while others have a strong surgical focus in foot and ankle procedures.
Podiatrist vs Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Surgeon
Both podiatrists and orthopedic foot and ankle surgeons treat many of the same foot and ankle problems, and both use nonsurgical and surgical methods. Orthopedic surgeons complete medical school (MD or DO) and a full orthopedic surgery residency, then subspecialty training in foot and ankle, so they treat foot and ankle issues in the context of the entire musculoskeletal system (hips, knees, spine, etc.).
Podiatrists, by contrast, concentrate their education and clinical experience almost entirely on the foot and ankle, including dermatologic, biomechanical, and chronic disease–related problems like diabetic foot disease. For many localized foot and ankle issues—such as nail disorders, skin lesions, common deformities, and diabetic foot care—a podiatrist is often the first-line specialist, while complex trauma or major joint reconstruction may be routed to an orthopedic foot and ankle surgeon depending on local resources and provider expertise.
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