What do you call a foot doctor? You call him/her a podiatrist or chiropodist. The word “podiatrist” comes from the Greek “pod” meaning foot, “iatreia” meaning healing, and “ist” meaning someone who practices or is concerned with something. Thus, a podiatrist is someone who practices healing feet. The word “chiropodist” comes from the Greek “cheiro” meaning hand, “pod” meaning foot, and “ist” meaning someone who practices or is concerned with something. A chiropodist, then, is someone who is concerned with hands and feet. According to the American Podiatric Medical Association, a podiatrist or chiropodist is a doctor who diagnoses and treats disorders and infections of the foot, ankle, and related parts of the leg.
In most states, podiatrists must complete four years of undergraduate education and four years of graduate education at an accredited podiatric college. As other physicians do, podiatrists must complete two to three years of residency training at a hospital.
There is evidence of the practice of podiatry as far back as the ancient Egyptians. Ancient papyri document treatment of corns and calluses. In the United States, chiropody (the term preferred by early Americans) was practiced since foundation of the country. Abraham Lincoln employed a chiropodist to care for his feet. The first American Association of Podiatrists was formed in 1895, the same year that podiatrists/chiropodists were first licensed in the United States. 1912 brought the formation of the American Podiatric Medical Association. The first medical residency program for podiatry opened at Philadelphia’s St. Luke’s and Children’s Medical Center in 1958. In that same year, the United States officially changed the name of the medical treatment of feet to “podiatry” rather than the previously used term “chiropody.”
The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (US BLS) reports that in 2008 approximately 12,200 podiatrists practiced in the United states. They predict that this number will increase to 13,300 by the year 2018. The US BLS projects that the rising number of diabetics and an increasingly active older generation of Americans will increase the need for podiatric help.
Talk to a Colorado Springs Foot Doctor
Contact Colorado Springs foot doctor, Kerry E. Berg, DPM, if you’re looking for relief from foot and ankle pain: 719-594-9920.
