Podiatry is one of the branches of the medicine profession. It places more emphasis on human movement and medically caring for ankles, feet, and lower extremities. Podiatrists refer to the medical experts whose work is studying and medically caring for lower extremity in humans. In the United States, the distribution of these specialists is even allowing easy access to services by the public. Any podiatrist near Boulder is in a position to supply professional care for lower extremities. Other names for these practitioners are podiatric surgeons, doctors, or physician.

Podiatric doctors are uniquely specialized in studying, preventing, treating, and diagnosing foot diseases, injuries, disorders, and conditions. Their field of work authorizes them to supply independent judgment and employ various diagnostic tests in treatment of patients. Many diseases manifest their initial symptoms through feet. This allows these doctors a unique chance to identify, prevent, or treat them in good time. Lack of podiatric help can lead to those signs disappearing without being noticed.

The scope of practice for podiatrists is very wide and differs from one geographical or demographical area to another. Their job allows them to work with other medical specialists in the community as part of a medical team. Some of the major tasks they carry out include performing surgical procedures, prescribing medications, setting fractures and treating sports related injuries. Podiatrists also perform and/or order physical therapies and prescribe and fit orthotics, customized shoes, and insoles.

Diagnosis involves taking and interpreting results from X-rays and other imaging studies. A podiatrist may also need to do full physical examination and medical history to get deeper insight into a disease. These practitioners need license to perform full physical examination and medical history.

Practitioners with extra training, experience, and expertise can care for and preserve diabetic feet by performing full or partial amputation. Amputations are meant to avoid further loss of the limb or life. They have the authority to order and administer sedatives and anesthesia although this is an area covered by certified nurse anesthetist or an anesthesiologist. The commonly used form of sedation is intravenous (IV) sedation.

To become qualified in podiatry, one must spend several years undergoing training, passing tests, and attending hospital-based residency coaching. Undergraduates and graduates can both gain admission into podiatric medical schools. General courses are covered during the first two years of study in the school. The courses resemble those of medicine students. It takes four years to complete training and specializations happens in the last two years.

Even though hospital-based residency training requires two years to complete in many cases, it may take longer. Key fields podiatrists have training in include human gait, general pathology, non-surgical foot care methods, surgical techniques, general anesthesia, , general medicine, and pharmacology. Surgical methods include partial or total nail avulsions, enucleation, wound debridement, cryotherapy, electro-surgical methods, matricectomy, and cutaneous procedures. This training endows them with enough knowledge to deal with a variety of foot conditions.

Main branches contained in the field of podiatry include podiatric vascular specialist, orthopedic, rheumatology, medical physician, gerentological podiatrist, sports medicine, and neuro-podiatrist among many others. Some practitioners have specialty in a single branch while others specialize in several. Those with specialty in sports medicine avail themselves on-site where their clients engage in sports.