How To Get Podiatrist Help

By Allan Tan

Several people live with foot pain that is caused by treatable foot health conditions. People with many types of painful foot conditions can benefit from proper medical treatment.

The medical treatment for foot problems is achieved with podiatrist help. Podiatrists licensed physicians who are knowledgeable about the complex structure of the foot. Podiatrists specialize in the treatment of several types of foot problems and deformities.

Podiatrists treat a variety of foot problems like corns, ingrown toenails, plantar fasciitis, heel spurs, bunions, foot injuries, foot deformities, and ankle injuries. Diagnostic tests may be performed by the podiatrist when diagnosing a foot problem.

Podiatrists also treat foot problems for people with diabetes. Diabetes complications such as poor circulation and impaired nerve functioning can cause foot wounds to be dangerous. A foot wound can become infected and lead to gangrene. If this occurs, the parts of the foot affected by gangrene or the entire foot may need to be amputated.

Podiatrist help can include physical therapy, prescription drugs, surgery, and orthotic devices. A variety of orthotic devices like shoe inserts, strapping devices, casts, or custom-made shoes. Podiatrists may not only fit orthotics for the patient, but may design them as well.

A person having a foot problem should be examined by their physician. Family physicians, also called general practitioners, can treat some foot problems. If the physician thinks the patient needs podiatrist help, the physician is likely to refer the patient to a podiatrist.

If a person gets a referral from the family doctor that the health insurance company has listed as the primary care physician, the podiatric treatment may be more likely to be covered by the person's health insurance. People may find a podiatrist without a doctor referral by consulting a phonebook or a directory of podiatrists on the Internet, but the listed podiatrists may not be covered by the person's health insurance policy.

After getting a referral, the patient should also either call the insurance company or consult the insurance benefits manual to make sure that the podiatrist is covered by their insurance. Even if the podiatrist is covered by the person's health insurance, the person may need to pay for a portion of the costs of the podiatric treatment. If the person has questions concerning how much the health insurance will cover, the person should contact the insurance company.

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