Podiatry is a branch of medicine dedicated to foot health, namely the prevention, research, diagnosis, and treatment of changes and pathologies that affect the foot, as well as its repercussions on the human body. The feet are complex, stabilising anatomical structures and, therefore, instrumental to general health and well-being, and as such, foot health problems may require specialised care.
There are several areas of intervention, from Children’s Podiatry to Geriatric Podiatry (for the elderly), High-Risk Podiatry (for conditions such as Diabetic Foot), and Sports Podiatry (targeted towards sportspeople and athletes), all of which focus on the prevention and treatment of foot and lower limb diseases.
Diseases that affect the feet can be structural or affect the skin and nails. In terms of skin problems, Podiatry treats dermatomycoses (mycoses of the skin), warts, fissures or cracks, digital and plantar keratopathies (corns and calluses), ulcers, and hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating). Among the nail problems, Podiatry treats onychocryptosis (ingrown/incarnate toenails), onychomycosis (mycoses on the nail), onychauxis and onychogryphosis (thickened nails) and subungual hematoma (blood under nail).
As for biomechanical changes, Podiatry addresses cases of heterometry (difference in length of the lower limbs), flatfeet, pes cavus, plantar fasciitis (pain in the sole of the foot), heel spurs (pain in the heel), tendinitis, ankle sprains, and generalised foot pain, through the elaboration of personalised insoles and digital orthoses (toe braces).
- Plantar orthoses (custom insoles)
- Silicone orthoses
- Plantar pressure assessment
- Gait analysis
You can count on Joaquim Chaves Saúde to restore your foot health and reprogram your body posture, especially at the knee, hip and spine level, for an improved quality of life.
