Introduction:
Before discussing the role, it is critical to understand who a podiatrist is. Podiatry is a branch of healthcare that is associated with the treatment of heel pain, diabetes foot complications, ankle and foot arthritis, nerve problems, tendonitis, hammer toes, flat feet, nail disorders, bunions, warts, fungus, fractures, and sprains. There are many forms of arthritis, but rheumatoid arthritis (an autoimmune illness that can cause joint discomfort, inflammation, and damage throughout the body) is one of the major ones that has been affecting many people for ages. This condition restricts mobility, further affecting the freedom and quality of life of the patient. Care of arthritis has seen a great evolution in recent years, and several methods have been introduced which have proven to treat and manage the disease effectively. One of the most effective and important methods of managing rheumatoid arthritis is through podiatric care, which is basically about managing conditions of the foot and ankle, particularly focusing on the case of arthritis on managing pain and restoring movement to the affected joints.
What Is Rheumatoid Arthritis?
The most common form of inflammatory arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, affects the majority of the population, mostly the older strata. Almost 90 percent of the people suffering from this condition reported other foot problems as well. For some people, it was their foot that showed all the signs and symptoms at first, while for some, months and years went by, but they did not see any problem related to their foot. The signs vary from soreness to warmth and swelling of one or more-foot joints that can last a few days and sometimes even longer than that, with other problems like joint erosions, joint instability, pain, and other problems that change the size and shape of the foot. These changes have the potential to change a person's ability to walk. Some medications for rheumatoid arthritis can have side effects on the skin and underlying tissues as well, making them prone to a lot of damage and getting infected. It also leads to bursae and nodules that become susceptible to rubbing too. The shape of the front of the foot changes further, creating pressure sites leading to the formation of corns and calluses. These things generally develop in areas involved with ulceration if they are not treated properly, which is why taking proper guidance from a podiatrist is utterly needed. Decreased blood supply can also be felt in the feet and legs associated with atherosclerosis and vaso-spastic disorders. Atherosclerosis is a condition where the inner lining of the arteries becomes thickened and the blood supply gets impaired, while vaso-spastic disorders are disorders where the spasms of the blood vessels occur, and the diameter of the blood vessels is decreased like in Raynaud's syndrome.
What Is a Podiatrists Role in Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Podiatrists play an important role in the management of rheumatoid arthritis. Their role is to identify, diagnose, and treat the diseases and deformities of the feet and legs and provide proper and timely care for them. It is now the podiatrist's decision if he wants to do it alone or with a team of other healthcare members, depending on the requirements of the individual's foot problems. The main motive of the podiatry element of rheumatology care is to decrease the pain of the foot, improve the functioning of the foot, and also mobility along with protecting skin and other damaged tissues. podiatrists also are involved in the examination of corns and calluses. They look for signs of ulcer formation before planning proper treatment.
Along with the treatment, podiatrists provide general nail care that patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis find difficult to do. This condition affects the mobility of the hand, too, besides the foot, for which patients find it impossible to do proper nail care and address other issues. Podiatrists are doctors who are trained to provide customized orthotic support to patients when they need it. Orthotic supports are generally insoles that are shaped in a way that can support the foot, provide proper movement, and also make sure that the deformities do not change the walking ability of a person in a way that the person starts walking to a dangerous degree. So basically, orthotics are tools that manage foot conditions like rheumatoid arthritis.
What Is the Range of Treatment Used by Podiatrists?
There are various methods of treatment that podiatrists implement for the management of rheumatoid arthritis. Some are:
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Palliative care of the foot includes general nail care, treatment of corns and calluses, and areas of hard skin. It is always best to seek professional guidance since pedicure blades, corn plasters, and nail paints are a strict no for the patients.
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Giving proper assessment and advice about footwear choices, footwear adaptations, and accessing specialist footwear services.
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They also provide advice about the lower limbs that includes protection of the joints, management of acute and chronic inflamed joints, along talking about surgical options.
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Providing customized orthotics depending on the requirement of the patient, like splints and insoles. These help in realigning the foot for it to function even better.
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Educating people about rheumatology so that they can understand how the foot works, how rheumatoid arthritis can affect the foot, and also what can help to treat it. In these programs, they talk about foot and leg anatomy, which is focused on the effect that rheumatoid arthritis might have on that particular part of the body, rheumatoid arthritis and foot structures, common signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis in the foot or leg, footwear advice, safe and appropriate self-care, prevention guidance and minor wounds, recommending exercises and also what measures one can take at home, like using hot and cold joint protection and when to seek medical help.
Conclusion
One has to know when to seek medical help because the faster they look for a podiatrist, the easier it will be for them to deal with the condition. Patients suffering from this condition also have to keep visiting the podiatrist for regular check-ups.
