Podiatrist Tammy Davis It’s not everyone’s cup of tea dealing with feet, but irrespective of what people think I don’t have a foot fetish. When I was a little girl I used to play a lot of tennis and had a genuine love of sport and the human body and always thought I wanted to do something with human physiology. It was people I was drawn to, not especially their feet. As it turns out I love podiatry. It is very satisfying. People come into the clinic and they have pain and they leave feeling better with a smile on their face and it makes you feel good about yourself. We say foot care is the foundation to your health. Yes, feet are your foundations but it is twofold that statement, because they are also the foundation to your well-being. If you have troubles with your feet and you can’t walk, you can’t move around freely then that potentially upsets your whole cardiovascular system. Way back when it was still called chiropody it was probably less recognised by other health professionals. But it is a four-year bachelor degree now and there is a lot more emphasis on the science, the pathology of different illnesses and biomechanics. Nowadays we get so many more referrals from doctors because there are a lot of conditions that can affect your feet. Maintaining healthy feet is particularly important for diabetics because it can be a matter of life or limb. With newly diagnosed diabetics we can do assessments to measure people’s risks of complications, circulation assessment, neurological assessment and the potential healing capacity or lack thereof. We can be the first ones to diagnose major problems. There are cases where we have identified malignant neoplasms and saved lives. I don’t know that I would let anyone actually walk a mile in my shoes. It’s generally not a good idea to wear other people’s shoes. But I do like shoes and I admit I do wear heels. I have shoes for nights out and special occasions and then I have the shoes I wear the vast majority of the time for my work and my walks. Even when patients need some orthotic therapy I’d prefer to let them follow the 80 – 20 rule which allows heels in moderation rather than being so dogmatic as to say they can’t wear them to, say, their son’s wedding. You have to give a person some respect that they know their limitations. But if you physically can’t get away with not wearing your orthotics, then obviously it is silly and dangerous to wear heels. Some people have really lovely feet. But not ballet dancers. They have terrible feet because they are en pointe all the time. They end up with toes that are really osteoarthritic because they are so jammed up. Some people are embarrassed by their feet, but I never judge a person by their feet – never, ever, ever.
30 | Bendigo Magazine - Issue 27