Listen to the full Be Well Podcast or read from the partial transcript below as Dr. Eric Powell, a podiatrist in the Foot and Ankle Department at Skagit Regional Health discusses the conditions podiatrists treat, what a patient can expect during a visit to the podiatrist and more.

Evo Terra (Host): What is a Podiatrist? And do your feet really need their own doctor? Let's find out with Dr. Eric Powell, a Podiatrist in the foot and ankle department at Skagit Regional Health. This is Be Well with Skagit Regional Health. I'm Evo Terra. Thanks for joining me, Dr. Powell.

Eric Powell, DPM: Pleasure to be here. Thanks for having me today.

Evo Terra (Host): To me it makes sense that we have foot and ankle doctors, podiatrists, chiropodists, whatever we want to call them, because of all of the things on the human body, feet take a pounding, literally, so I'm curious, what conditions do you and your fellow podiatrists see most often? What do you treat?

Eric Powell, DPM: That's a good question. We see pretty much everything. We are the people to go to for anything below the knee, foot and ankle wise. We do simple soft tissue conditions if it's ulcers or bumps and bruises, we do broken bones, we do everything from toenails to tibias as I say. I personally do total ankle replacements, I do bigger surgery, trauma surgery of the lower extremity what we call pilon fractures, calcaneal heel bone fractures, ankle bone fractures. All that kind of stuff. And then we just treat kind of chronic conditions as well. People that come in with deformities, like bunions or flat feet or high arches or tendon tears, Achilles issues you know, anything that is bugging you, basically on your foot or your ankle, we take care of whatever it is.

Evo Terra (Host): Let's talk about what it's like from the other side, from the patient's point of view. Someone who's never seen a podiatrist, is walking into their first podiatry visit with a physician like yourself. What can that patient expect?

Eric Powell, DPM: Hopefully, at least for me, they can expect me to listen to what's going on. I try to take my time. Make sure we understand and explain why the condition they have is what they have. I really want to educate patients on not just what they have, but why they have it. What's the mechanics, what's the structure behind their foot that's driving this. And then I think that really helps us decide what we can do to get you better and feel better. And just making sure that we're all on the same page and we want to understand and I like to be collaborative. I want to have a team approach with patients. A lot of it is homework for them. They got to go home and do stretches or get insoles or stuff like that. And so really making sure that they understand the reason why. And then of course, if we have to offer surgery, then we certainly have those discussions.

Evo Terra (Host): This may sound like a very basic question, but I think it's probably a good way for us to get close to the end of this conversation. And that is, why is it important we take care of our feet?

Eric Powell, DPM: Well, your feet carry you for the rest of your life, right? If your feet aren't feeling good, you're generally not feeling good. That can affect your mood. It can affect your livelihood. It can affect your personal life, everything. If your feet hurt, you're not a happy person. So I think it's important to pay attention to when things aren't feeling good and take care of them and don't ignore it. Now, certain things, you don't have to rush off and see us right away. Try the simple things first, rest it a bit, ice and anti inflammatories or Tylenol. If you can take those medications, that's great. But if something's not getting better and not working, and it's starting to affect what you do, then of course, we need to see you and take a look at things and see if we can do something to get you better. 

Evo Terra (Host): I think that's a great sentiment to have. Is there anything else you wanted to add before we wrap the conversation?

Eric Powell, DPM: Podiatry has taken me all over the world. I've been able to go through training and go to Eastern Europe and do surgery with people over there and travel all over the country at conferences. And it's been a great opportunity and it's a real honor and a privilege that patients trust you to come in and see them and take care of them. I hope they choose to come see myself or my partners, because we are good at what we do and, we want to help people get better.

Evo Terra (Host): Dr. Powell, thank you very much for your time today.

Eric Powell, DPM: I appreciate the opportunity. Thank you very much.