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 specialty that is focused on foot care is podiatry. Podiatrist help can treat and correct a variety of foot problems. Podiatrists are licensed physicians who are knowledgeable about the complex structure of the feet.
Foot problems such as heel spurs, corns, ingrown toenails, bunions, foot deformities, and foot and ankle injuries are treated by podiatrists. The podiatrist may perform a variety of diagnostic tests to accurately diagnose the foot problem.
Prompt foot care is especially important for people with diabetes. The physician treating the diabetic patient may refer the patient to a podiatrist if the patient has a wound on the foot. Foot wounds can cause serious diabetic complications including infection, gangrene, and amputation.
Podiatrist help can be in the form of prescription drugs, surgery, orthotic devices, and physical therapy. For some foot problems, the podiatrist may design and fit the patient with different types of orthotic devices like shoe inserts, casts, strapping devices, or custom-made shoes.
People having foot problems need to be examined by their physicians to determine if they need podiatrist help. The physician may be able to treat the foot problem. If not, the physician can refer the patient to a podiatrist.
Many health insurance policies will not pay a significant portion of the costs of seeing a specialist like a podiatrist unless the patient gets a referral from their family doctor that is considered the patient’s primary care physician by the insurance company. There are other sources for finding a podiatrist such as the phone book or podiatrist directories on the Internet, but the person risks the health insurance not paying for podiatrist services without a referral unless the insurance company allows this.
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.