I’m wondering if I’ve gained the wrong impression of an entire profession.
It seems everyone I’ve ever met who went to a podiatrist, both friends and people I met during my time as a cobbler, was told they had severe foot problems and prescribed all manner of very expensive shoe inserts, splints, and other forms of correction. I’ve also gained the impression that podiatrists uniformly think you should never, ever, ever walk around barefoot even in your own home and human feet need constant “support” or will otherwise collapse into limp noodles.
Now I do realize that it’s people with foot problems who are more likely to got to a podiatrist in the first place. There are also people who very clearly have pretty bad issues who were helped by medical attention or surgery.
However, has anyone ever gone to a podiatrist and been told “you’ve got healthy feet - keep doing what you’re doing”?
I always thought that going barefoot under safe conditions was healthy for your feet and helped build strong feet (obviously, you want to protect those same feet when outside, support is important when engaged in activities that put more than normal stress on feet, or working in a warehouse, and proper footwear that protects the feet is important in many situations).
Would be interested in hearing what others have to say or have experienced.
Depends on the podiatrist. I went to one for years, and told him up-front that I hate inserts/splits/orthotics and they always made my feet/ankles/legs/hips hurt, so I wasn’t wearing them. (I also told him that I wasn’t giving up high heels totally. He was cool with that.)
He was a fan of me going barefoot, so I suppose it depends on your foot issues.
I did drive him nuts because I think that athletic shoes should be worn when doing, um athletics, and no other time. He’s a big fan of those shoes. For everyday wear.
I bet most people who go to a psychiatrist end up with a diagnosis, because why would someone go if they weren’t having some issue unless you’re a wealthy hypochondriac.
EDIT:The opposite issue of the OP, where you go to a medical pro with an issue bothering you and are dismissed out of hand sucks. I know someone who was having serious life interfering anxiety they were self medicating with booze, they finally got up the money and effort to go to a doctor about it. The advice? Eat more veggies and exercise.
I went to one for a wart on the bottom of my foot. He was great. I went to another for aching feet. He made lots of suggestions, none of which I actively tried because they were costly.
What he should have talked to me about, and what eventually solved my problem, was losing some excess weight.
My mother used to go to get her pedicures. No, seriously: diabetes. She’s not going any more because my sister in law has taken over that duty (she’s a GP). Other than doing her nails and treating a fungal infection and a series of skin issues (some of them with recipes such as “do you have a general body milk? Use it on your feet before going to bed”), the podiatrist didn’t do anything. Which is not a criticism, there simply wasn’t anything else for her to do.
Grandma now has a podiatrist because she’s in an old folks’ home and there’s so many diabetics and people with other foot issues that a podiatrist is part of general medical care.
Re: bare feet in the home. My GP is the person who told me not to go barefoot, but that’s because of diabetes. Extremities take much longer to heal when you’re diabetic, so reducing the chances of a cut, bruise or broken toe is important.
My first podiatrist was hopeless, but my current one is efficient and the orthotics he prescribed fixed my plantar fasciitis problem (after literally trying everything else). I went back in after a couple of years to ask him if I should replace them and he said ‘no, they should last at least five years’. He could easily have gouged me for new ones and didn’t.
I went to a series of appointments with a podiatrist for wart removal, and he never mentioned anything about my shoes, walking barefoot, or orthotics. Then again, I didn’t bring up any foot problems or foot pain, I just wanted my warts removed.
I’m sure if you go in saying that your feet hurt, the podiatrist is going to try to come up with a way to resolve the problem.
Many podiatrists are BIG on orthotics for bunions. Ditto hammertoes (even if they don’t hurt). Or if you have Morton’s toe even if there’s no problem with them. (I have all 3 conditions.)
Orthotics didn’t do a thing to help my bunions. Decent-quality, well-fitting shoes helped some. Joint injections when pain from the inflammation set in. But eventually, I had to have surgery. That fixed them right up, and I can wear any shoe I want.
Orthotics are often not covered by insurance, so they can be a nice little money maker for some podiatrists. Obviously, YMMV, IANAP, BBQ, ETC.
I see a podiatrist for a foot injury, and he does recommend and even sell orthopedic inserts, but after I bought the wrong ones elsewhere, he gave me a pair that he sells, for free. They’re not the custom-made ones that cost hundreds, or anything, but I thought that was really nice. He’s never commented on any other problem other than my injury, and even could have easily talked me into letting him do surgery, but he actually worked to convince me that I didn’t need it. So yeah, nice guy, seemingly very ethical doctor, no pressure to do this or buy that, or years of continuing appointments, at all.
I got into running; after a few years I developed plantar fasciitis. I went to the podiatrist (having insurance) and got x-rays, a diagnosis, custom orthotics, a few cortizone shots spread out over a few months, and told to go see such and such physical therapist (insurance didn’t cover) for other treatments.
I had to take about a year off of running, but I got better and quit going to the podiatrist.
I spent my entire childhood wearing prescribed orthopedic shoes (and should probably have spent my adult life likewise) – not because of foot problems, but because of spine problem. I have scoliosis, and one of the special modifications to my shoes was a 1/4" lift under the left heel.
I don’t know that this was prescribed by a podiatrist in particular. I think the doctor was an orthopedist.
That’s why I figured, so I ignored the typo.