Dubai Podiatry Centre: Changing How Patients With Foot Pain Are Treated

Written by Michelle Champlin BSc Pod., M.Ch.S., S.R., Ch., (UK)
Who visits a Podiatrist?
At Dubai Podiatry Centre, we work very differently to other Podiatrists. Our patients have busy, demanding lives and come to us because they want results quickly and effectively, with the best treatments, with treatment plans explained in detail. When you are experiencing foot pain, we understand the unique demands placed on feet – from bankers at DIFC looking for the latest custom orthotic to be worn within slim fitting Gucci or Prada menswear work shoes, to professional athletes – each sport having vastly different demands on the feet, ankles and legs.
Our aim is always to work with the patient to achieve their goals, from injury rehabilitation for a tennis player recovering from an ankle sprain; to runners looking to be free from the pain of shin splints; or a busy mum with heel pain so severe she is limping as soon as she gets out of bed in the morning.
Unfortunately, the majority of adults will experience some form of foot pain during their life (77% according to a recent APMA study*) but only a third of those would actually seek qualified help. You shouldn’t have to suffer from foot pain, and any issues are best dealt with early – there is more than likely a straightforward solution and at Dubai Podiatry Centre we believe in thoroughly assessing and discussing your diagnosis and treatment options, backed up with your detailed written medical report within 24 hours.
We’re changing the way patients with foot pain are treated
Our qualified Podiatrists (led by Chief Podiatrist Michelle Champlin) will assess you, measuring the exact degree that your alignment needs to be corrected. We then take a mold of your feet to get an exact 3D model of your feet, and make our orthotic from scratch in-house in our own laboratory.
We don’t send away to get orthotics made by a factory, as we don’t believe mass produced insoles give the best results. These tend just to be just insoles that are made to a generic shape, and at most are ‘customized’ by adding on a wedge by the practitioner. We believe only true custom prescription orthotics achieve the exact prescription results we’re looking to achieve for our patients, and having our laboratory in our clinic means that we can adjust and modify our orthotics while the patients wait. You wouldn’t let anyone else but a qualified dentist assess your teeth and fit your orthodontic braces, and your feet should be treated with the same care by the appropriate professional.
Can’t I order a cheap pair of insoles over the Internet?
Of course you can – if it alleviates your pain and you’re happy. If they don’t, we’ll be here for you. We work very uniquely in this way – we’re the only clinic with our own in-house lab, combined with qualified Podiatrists who expertly assess, treat, make your orthotics and monitor your progress through to correction and discharge.
Nothing rivals the person who has trained to degree level in foot medicine at University being the same person who sees you, assesses your feet, then goes into their own lab to physically make your prescriptive orthotics from scratch, and then fits them to check they are perfect, then remains managing your case and treatment until the desired results are achieved.
Why do we make our own orthotics?
Fully equipped laboratories are very expensive to set up and operate with the specialist equipment and materials required, so Podiatrists have understandably tended to outsource orthotics, fitting either generic pre-made ‘chairside’ insoles or sending away to external factories to have insoles machined.
Making orthotics is also a time consuming and very skilled, expensive process, requiring years of training. Thus, most Podiatrists will prefer to outsource their prescription to a wholesale production facility. The downside is that adjustments cannot be done on premises whilst the patient waits, and the orthotic is not made specifically for that patient’s feet (no two feet are the same).
We don’t expect one brand of shoe to fit everyone’s feet, even if your Internet or shop purchased insoles are the right ‘size’ it’s unlikely they’ll address or correct your biomechanical malalignment. Over-pronation, the most common biomechanics issue we see, is similar to the Leaning Tower of Pisa – people who over-pronate will do so a ‘little bit’ or ‘a lot’ to anywhere in between – we’ll measure you to the precise degree. And we also take into account any other factors such as leg length discrepancy and so on, which no machine will notice.
Podiatry is a complex, skilled profession, and not one that a foot scanner, factory or machine can replace. A foot scanner takes a fancy looking image / read out of your standing, weight-bearing feet. Great! If that’s all you do with your feet… Real life people also like to walk, run, take the weight off our feet, play different sports, grow, experience pain at different times of the day and doing different activities…. Different and sometimes subtle points matter when the Podiatrist is taking careful note of all your signs and symptoms, analysing your health history and most importantly – listening to you – this is all putting the pieces of the jigsaw together to form your diagnosis. A scanner gives a snapshot of your feet, and we are interested in the whole movie!
What happens if I am advised to wear corrective orthotics?
The most common reason we prescribe custom corrective orthotics is to treat collapsed long arches (or ‘flat feet’). You will literally see your arch begin to form and your whole foot tightens, tone and lift up over the course of a couple of months. Much like braces to realign your teeth, we will then see you again after a couple of months generally to either ‘tighten’ up your feet further by changing your prescription, or finalizing your treatment plan and ‘neutralizing’ your prescription. All you need to do is wear your orthotics! Don’t worry – these aren’t a lifelong thing you need to wear, although ours are only a few millimeters thick and no one knows they’re inside your shoes. Most people are finished with corrective orthotic treatment in only 12 weeks.
If you are experiencing foot, toenail, ankle or leg pain – there is no need to put up with it – make an appointment with your Podiatrist and you’ll be back on your feet in no time.
Specialist appointments for feet, ankles and legs at Dubai Podiatry Centre, including with Chief Podiatrist Michelle Champlin, can be made by calling us on 04 3435390.
*Source: American Podiatric Medical Association, Today’s Podiatrist Survey on public attitude to foot health, 19 May 2014.