The titles chiropodist and podiatrist are interchangeable, al-though podiatry is the new name for chiropody.

There have been many changes in the profession over the past few years which have been represented by the name change.

Since the changes and updates podiatry has expanded its area of interest and the training now includes diabetes, rheumatology, pharmacology, medicine, nail surgery and biomechanics (the way you walk and how it affects your body), plus many other areas.

People are often surprised it includes all these different areas of study as it is not always obvious how your feet are affected by these things.

As your feet are part of your body they can be affected by any medication that you take and your general health.

The main treatments podiatrists/ chiropodists give include: general maintenance of the feet, nail care, corn/callus reduction and ingrowing toenail treatment as well as biochemical assessments and orthotic prescriptions, which will help to correct any misalignments in the foot, improve a person's posture or alleviate any pain in the foot or leg.