There can be many reasons for using a Foot Health Practitioner, from routine nail cutting to general foot improvement and health or even for specific foot complaints such as verrucae or ingrown toenails. The service offered is to ensure your feet are healthy and in the best possible condition, whatever your age.

An FHP may be used if you have mobility and/or flexibility issues or simply don’t have sufficient hand strength to operate nail clippers. It could be that your eye-sight is not sufficient for accurate nail cutting and once a nail has thickened it can be very hard to cut. An FHP can deal with all of these issues for you.

To be a FHP you need to study and complete a Diploma in Foot Health Practice, where you are taught correct procedures and safe techniques, including safe scalpel technique.
 
The foot cannot exist without the systems that support it:-

• the skeletal system means that it can take weight and support us
• the musculature makes the skeleton work
• the vascular system supplies nutrients and oxygen to the tissues, and removes waste products
• the lymphatic system helps defend us from infection
• the nervous system gives sensation and protection
• the endocrine system is involved in supporting our cells and keeping tissues healthy

In order to work safely upon the foot and understand the processes which must occur to keep the foot fully functional, FHP’s learn how these systems work so that they are able to recognise what happens when the systems fail.

FHP’s provide a service to the private sector and work within the remit of their skills base.

What is a Podiatrist?

A Podiatrist specialises in the study, diagnosis and treatment of long term foot, ankle and lower leg conditions.  They aim to prevent and correct deformities of the feet and lower legs by using orthotics and are able to offer advice on the correct style of footwear for your feet.

Many individuals visit a Podiatrist if they are suffering from problems with ligaments, tendons and bones or if they are experiencing consistent pain within their feet or lower legs.

Diabetes Foot Care

Having diabetes means that the well-being of your feet is of even greater importance. FHPs can provide a service where your feet are well maintained and any troublesome conditions can be spotted in their infancy and referred on.

The human foot has 26 bones, 52 bones in each pair of feet;
this is almost a quarter of all the bones in the human skeleton.
The foot also has 33 joints and more than a hundred
muscles, tendons, and ligaments.

Foot Fact