Podiatrists work with feet, feet problems, and they also perform surgery.

 

1.  What has 4 legs, but only 1 foot?  Click here for the answer.

 

In the foot, if you count the bones, muscles, nerves, ligaments, and blood vessels, they all add up to a total of 26.

 

2.  Why did the doctor move the patient away from the window?  Click here for the answer.

Americans spend a lot of time standing, running, walking, jogging, playing sports.  As people (ranging from babies to adults) around the world become more and more active, the need for foot care will become very important to continue a healthy everyday life.

The human foot is a complicated shape.  It has 26 bones – including muscles, nerves, ligaments, and blood vessels.  It’s designed for balance and the ability to move.  The 52 bones in your feet make up about a quarter of all the bones in your body.  Podiatrists are also known as doctors of podiatric medicine.  They identify and treat diseases and injuries of the foot and lower leg to keep that part of the body working properly.

Podiatrists treat calluses, ingrown toenails, corns, bunions, heel spurs, and arch difficulties, ankle and foot injuries, misshapenness and infections, and foot complaints related to diseases like diabetes.  To treat these troubles, podiatrists prescribe medicine, order physical therapy, heal fractures, and perform surgery.  They create and fit healing inserts called orthotics, design plaster casts and strappings to correct deformities, and design custom-made shoes, too.  Podiatrists might use a force plate to help design the orthotics.  Patients walk across a plate that is connected to a computer that “reads” the patients’ feet, and it picks up where the pressure spots are and where the weight distribution is.  From the computer readout, podiatrists will order the right kind of design of orthotics, or they’ll recommend a certain kind of treatment.

To identify a foot problem, podiatrists order x-rays and lab tests.  The foot might be the 1^st to show signs of very serious conditions, like arthritis, diabetes, and heart disease.  For example, diabetics are “attracted” to foot sores and infections due to reduced circulation.

Most podiatrists have a practice by themselves, although more are developing group practices with other podiatrists or health practitioners.  Some of them specialize in surgery, orthopedics, primary care, or public health.  Other than these certified specialties, podiatrists might practice a subspecialty like sports medicine, pediatrics, dermatology, radiology, geriatrics, or diabetic foot care.

Podiatrists who are in private practice are in charge of running a small business.  They might hire employees, order supplies, and keep records among other tasks.  Plus, some educate the community on the benefits of foot-care through speaking and advertising.

Podiatrists usually work in their own offices.  They might also spend time visiting patients in nursing homes or performing surgery.  But they usually have fewer hours after emergencies than other doctors.  Those with practices set their very own hours, but they might work evenings and weekends to take care of the needs of their patients.

Credits

Web Sites

<http://yahooligans.yahoo.com/content/jokes/q/20010729.html>

<http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos075.htm>

Book

Bernstein, Joanne E. and Paul Cohen.  Dizzy Doctor Riddles. Niles, Illinois: Albert Whitman & Company. 1989.

Images

Images of foot skeleton and baby-soft feet from "Microsoft Office Online" <http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/default.aspx?cag=1> Images free for non-profit and personal use. (October-February, 2003-2004). 

Joke Answers

1.  A bed.  Return.
2.  So he'd feel no pane.  Return.