While flying home from a medical conference, I noticed that airplane shopping magazines have everything. You can buy jackknife watches, home acupuncture kits, and even the world’s largest crossword puzzle. Amazing! You may notice that the magazine is full of advertisements for healthcare products. You can buy hearing aids, back adjusters and tons of different foot products. All while flying thousands of miles above your doctor’s office. So how reliable are these products?
Almost everyone has achy feet. Studies have shown that 75% of the American population has at least one foot problem. What a great market! Though we all have achy feet, there are thousands of reasons why our feet hurt. Do these products address your problem? If you have achy feet and have not yet seen a podiatric physician then I highly recommend that you refrain from wasting your money on products. If you have heel pain, it is not always planter fasciitis. Unless you have a diagnosis from your podiatric physician, you should not be using products to treat any foot disorder.
What if you have a diagnosis? When a doctor diagnosis’s you with a disorder, they develop a treatment plan that treats you and your specific conditions. Podiatric physicians know more about the foot and ankle than any other profession. With a combination of education and experience, podiatric physicians can map out a step by step process that will give you the best road to recovery. If you use products that are not a part of their treatment plan, you may interfere with your own healing! Talk to your doctor before trying something new. It may hurt you more than it will help you. Also, make sure to talk to your doctor about products you have used in the past. This is valuable information for the doctor because it may be the reason you are still or again experiencing problems.
What if your doctor already talked to you about using a product? Your doctor should discuss their treatment plan with you. High in the air, you see a devise that looks just like the one he showed you in the office. Should you take advantage of the low prices in the sky? Just because two products look the same, does not mean they are made the same. There is constantly being new products developed and researched but not all foot products have reliable studies to back up their claims. Many of the products that podiatric physicians provide are only found in physician offices and often a special licenses and education is needed to provide such products. These products always have legitimate studies that approves their use, but only someone who has training can really determine if it is the right product for you. Your foot is very complex and the devices and products provided in the doctor’s office are made with your foot’s anatomy and biomechanics in mind. Many of the products you find outside of the office are made with your pocketbook in mind.
Here are some helpful hints to guide you through the foot mall. Shoes should be made to support your feet not to fit in your back pocket. If you can fold the shoe or sandal up to a compactable size it is probably not going to support your foot well. There is a country song that says “Shoes don’t stretch and men don’t change.” Maybe you forgot but shoes come in multiple sizes. If they don’t fit buy the next size up. Let that “I’ll change for you” boy buy the shoe stretcher. Check your doctor’s website for products. Your podiatric physician can provide you with products approved by the American Podiatric Medical Association. Your physician is not there to take advantage of you; they are there to make you feel better. They provide you with a product because it is in their treatment plan to make you better. Most other places do not care if get better as long as you buy.
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