Most New Yorkers can’t get on a subway without reading some kind of healthcare advertisement; and yet somehow so many people are unaware of exactly what a podiatrist is. Our podiatrists at Midtown Podiatry came up with a few facts that will answer some of your questions!
1. Podiatrists must be educated. It’s true of all podiatrists — New York and otherwise — but people in NYC are much more likely to believe that it’s possible to ‘cheat the system’. Fortunately, that’s almost impossible — there’s a basic State exam that every podiatrist has to pass; and if you have been to one (or are currently going to one) that can’t show you their certificate, find a new podiatrist, plain and simple.
2. Your feet are critically important to your overall health. Especially in the Big Apple where we all walk everywhere and there’s precious little soft ground to be found, even a minor maladjustment in your foot can cause everything from back pain to intestinal distress.
3. Your feet are not made to walk in shoes. Of course, it’s not exactly hygienic to walk around without shoes on, especially in a densely-packed city, so shoes have their purpose — but studies have shown that bare feet actually deal better with the millions of tiny impacts against hard surfaces that city life forces on them. The podiatrists at Midtown Podiatry are trained to deal specifically with the kinds of small problems that creep up when you wear shoes for your entire life.
4. Podiatrists are health-care professionals. Podiatry, NYC‘s opinions aside, isn’t just about bunions and ingrown toenails. Podiatrists are intimately familiar with the effects that foot health has on the entire body, and as such they have just as much if not more anatomical and systemic understanding as a general practitioner. They treat infections, diseases, and deformities of the foot just like a GP treats any general infection, disease, or deformity — just with more focus and thus greater clarity.
5. The foot is the early-warning system for your entire body. Think about gravity. The fact is that because of that ubiquitous force, many diseases from heart disease to diabetes often leave telltale signs in the foot before they appear anywhere else in the body. That makes the podiatrists at Midtown Podiatry a lot more than just someone who helps you walk right — he can and does save lives on a regular basis.
If you would like to meet with one of Midtown Podiatry’s trained podiatrists, with locations in Midtown, Gramercy Park, Wall Street, Union Square and Glen Cove, you can conveniently make an online appointment, or call us at any of the locations.