Any member of the public can attend the Clinic for assessment. While referrals from medical and other health practitioners are welcome, patients do not need a medical referral to attend the Clinic.
Podiatric treatment in our student clinic is available to members of the public at reduced fees for a wide range of general podiatry services. Payment is required at the time of treatment, and can be made by cash, cheque, EFTPOS or credit card.
As this is a teaching facility, you cannot claim a rebate on the fees charged from private health insurance funds or through Medicare.
The UWA Podiatry Clinic is a training venue for students studying undergraduate and postgraduate podiatric medicine.
The Clinic caters for the diagnosis and treatment of a variety of foot and ankle conditions. Undergraduate students in Levels 2 - 4 and postgraduate students participate in the clinical activity under the supervision of academics and visiting podiatrists.
It offers podiatric treatment to members of the public at reduced fees for a wide range of general podiatry services. The Clinic has individual consulting bays, an orthoses laboratory, a gait analysis laboratory, and additional supporting facilities.
Many symptomatic foot problems we endure as adults are present but remain undetected in children.
Indeed, a number of foot problems may be diagnosed and effectively treated within the first few months of a baby’s life. For this reason, we suggest all children should be screened for foot problems before the age of six months, again at 18 months, then at three years and seven years of age.
Children’s foot and leg problems which can be assessed and helped are:
The use of laser therapy in podiatry is quite new and provides an exciting means of painlessly treating a range of conditions that were often difficult to manage or required prolonged periods of treatment. Conditions such as onychomycosis (fungal infection of the nails) often respond well to just a few laser treatments, thus avoiding the use of oral antifungal medications. Laser can also be effective in the treatment of warts, scars, superficial varicose veins of the foot and lower leg and certain other conditions.
Foot structure often changes as we age and may lead to the development of corns, callous, bunions and other foot ailments. Routine podiatric care can help prevent many of these conditions from becoming a chronic problem.
We are well versed in dealing with the following common conditions:
Abnormal foot mechanics is the cause of many overuse-sporting injuries affecting the foot and lower limb. Such conditions often respond well to advice on footwear, individualised stretching programs and/or the use of custom foot orthoses.
These common sports injuries can be addressed:
Many foot complaints can be effectively treated with custom-made orthoses or foot supports.
Orthoses are individually prescribed and made from plaster impressions of your feet held in their ‘neutral’ position. Such devices are designed to relieve abnormal stresses on the foot, ankle, leg, hip and lower back.
Orthoses prescribed at the Clinic are usually constructed from ultra-thin carbon graphite composites or thin polypropylene materials that take up very little space inside the shoe.
Carefully designed and constructed, such devices are usually comfortable to wear and effective in reducing or eliminating the symptoms of poor foot posture. Most private health insurance funds provide rebates for prescription foot orthoses.
The prevalence of diabetes in Australia is increasing and podiatrists play an important role in the multidisciplinary health care of patients with diabetes. All diabetics should have their legs and feet checked on a regular basis by a podiatrist who will perform a neurovascular assessment and provide advice about preventing foot problems and care for any existing condition.
Without proper preventative care, patients with diabetes are prone to develop skin pressure lesions that may progress into foot ulcers that often become infected and lead to major complications and the subsequent need for extensive surgery. Regular podiatry and medical care can prevent serious foot complications from developing.
The Clinic has a modern gait analysis laboratory with state of the art EMED (platform) and Pedar (in-shoe) plantar pressure measuring equipment, treadmill and siliconCOACH™ video analysis software.
Patients will benefit significantly from the use of this technology, including those requiring foot orthoses to manage a range of gait abnormalities, sports or work-related injuries, and diabetic patients with pressure distribution problems.