It is not an easy task to make people love feet

All photos by Stephanie Lee for RICE Media

Warm, sweaty and freshly undressed. On a seemingly normal Wednesday afternoon, I fondle my photographer’s foot.

Several of my coworkers watch me fiddling with their toes. It’s as weird as it is uncomfortable. We both look and feel like we’d rather be anywhere else.

However, one person in the room is agitated. It’s Kimberley Leow, a podiatrist and certified foot specialist by profession. She shows me how to find the cause of my photographer’s ongoing discomfort by bending her feet back and forth.

Finally, I feel a slight tension in the sole of her foot. Kimberley confirms it enthusiastically and the room fills with “Ohs.”

“There are many causes of leg pain! But the good thing is that you can always find out what’s wrong just by observing your feet,” Kimberley enthuses.

“Your feet will never lie!”

The wonderful world of fascinating feet

Kimberley has a strong stomach – after all, she works with feet.

The 31-year-old vice president of the Podiatry Association (Singapore) is unfazed by all kinds of visual horrors, despite what her sweet, Taylor Swift-loving demeanor might suggest. She loves them – the gnarlier the feet look, the better.

As soon as she walks into the photo studio, she is immediately drawn to the huge photos we have hanging of various foot ailments. Some look harmless. Others are, well, gag-inducing if you stare at them for too long. While I do my best to ignore her, she darts between the photos, eagerly looking at each one.

“This one stinks.” She points to a blown-up photo of an onyx nail, her eyes sparkling.

“Sometimes we can tell what’s wrong with a patient’s foot just by smell.” Certain bacteria have a unique smell, she adds, assuring me that podiatrists don’t actively sniff their patients’ feet.

They usually have a penchant for the unusual. Kimberley tells the story of when she knew the job was for her. Over lunch, senior podiatrists discussed a rather gruesome case – pictures included – with the same casual candor as one would watch the latest Netflix series.

Kimberley felt comfortable in the situation. “I ate and enjoyed both the food and the subject matter. That’s when I realized that I could see myself doing this for the long term.”

I wonder if all podiatrists are equally fascinated by such… animated things. The simple answer is yes.

The longer and more detailed answer lies in the nature of their profession.

Like any health professional, podiatrists need an iron stomach and a strong will to learn and understand their patients’ complaints. Like any other part of the body, the foot can be prone to unique complaints that confuse most people. It can also cause embarrassment and insecurity in the patient.

For the profession of podiatrist, it is therefore important that curiosity outweighs all other human instincts. There is simply no room for hypersensitivity here.

She admits that dealing with feet that are plagued for days with fungal infections and an impenetrable odor, strange She even had nightmares about it once. Since then, however, smelly feet have been completely normal.

The podiatric pursuit

Despite her youthful appearance, Kimberley is already one of the older members of her team at Sengkang General Hospital, which is surprising considering most people wouldn’t expect young people to spend all day solving foot problems – or even enjoy it.

Podiatry is not offered as a degree at local universities – Kimberley did her Bachelor of Podiatry at Queensland University of Technology – so most people wouldn’t even believe such a position existed. If it did, they would probably mistake it for an orthopaedic foot and ankle surgeon.

Both treat lower limb health. As the name suggests, foot and ankle orthopedic surgeons perform surgeries that fix internal problems like torn ligaments and broken bones.

Podiatry treats external problems. It is the partner of orthopedics in the healthcare system and supports and accompanies the doctors’ treatment plans. From wound care to sports injuries, from rehabilitation after operations to nail health – podiatrists take care of everything.

Kimberley’s desire to become a podiatrist stems from a desire to improve people’s lives. As a student, she experienced a moment that refined that focus: a patient’s gait had changed remarkably after trying a modified but otherwise simple pair of insoles.

It seemed like a small, insignificant action on the part of the podiatrist. But for the patient, it changed everything. Walking is a fundamental function; nothing is better than seeing a patient regain it.

Just like with shoes, there is no one size fits all solution.

Treatment often depends on the assessment: the patient’s lifestyle, past history, daily habits and occupation. A simple foot pain may simply be caused by a poorly supporting shoe – or it may indicate something much more serious.

“Foot health is often taken for granted,” she says. “They are just as important as any other part of the body, perhaps more so. Everything you do – running, walking, standing – requires your feet. If they hurt, your functions are severely limited.”

She points to the increase in sports injuries during the pandemic. Back then, when people chose to jog and exercise to relieve boredom or escape the house, the decision turned out to be less clear-cut than when they chose a regular pastime activity such as gaming. Among us.

If you’re looking to start exercising again after years of sedentary work, proper preparation is necessary to avoid injury. This includes simple but necessary steps, such as choosing the right pair of shoes or doing warm-up exercises to acclimatize your muscles.

Only some of us exercise regularly, but many of us want to get out of the house. Simply put, not everyone is adequately prepared for this. That’s why Kimberley believes education is just as important as treatment.

She believes most cases cannot be resolved in one session and it is up to patients to manage their condition outside of the clinic. Sometimes that means trimming nails properly or dressing wounds properly. Sometimes it means knowing what type of shoe best suits their foot type and lifestyle, rather than choosing based on looks alone.

Health starts from the bottom up. For Kimberley, that’s quite literal.

Best feet forward

Despite her busy schedule, Kimberley finds time to learn from others in the industry.

As Vice President of the Podiatrist Association (Singapore), she organizes networking events where local and international podiatrists come together and share knowledge. Podiatry in Singapore is still in its infancy – with so few podiatrists here, the expertise and advice of overseas podiatrists is extremely valuable in improving the local profession.

Without the overseas healthcare scholarship offered by MOH Holdings (MOHH), Kimberley may not have had the opportunity to become a podiatrist herself.

The Podiatrist Association does its best to make the work of podiatrists known not only to patients but also to future health students so that they know that podiatry Strictly speaking a viable career in Singapore.

The association’s biggest dream, says Kimberley, is that one day foot care will be as widespread as dental care – with regular check-ups and even health screenings at school.

As with any other condition, prevention is always better than cure. Kimberley hopes that preventative foot care from a young age can minimize the pain that people currently have to endure.

She finds it encouraging that more and more students who visit the hospital on introductory trips know what podiatry is.

“Unlike in the past, the younger generation is exposed to many more things on the Internet and therefore knows more about feet,” she muses.

“The Internet does love his feet,” I say. She laughs.

“I guess it starts somewhere“, she adds. “If this interest in feet can help them realize that there is actually a profession dedicated to foot health, that’s good too. As long as they are aware that we don’t usually work with the pretty perfect feet you see online.”

Laced

When our photo shoot was over, a spontaneous foot consultation began. My colleagues came to me to get advice for themselves and their families.

Neither of them had been to a podiatrist before. But in that short two-hour session, Kimberley’s insights into foot health changed their minds immediately.

Even when we left the studio together, she shared all kinds of insights and advice with us until we parted ways. Maybe it’s a professional habit, but it’s hardly considered an occupational hazard when a professional The committed to their cause.

“I love treatment and I love pathophysiology. The road to recovery is so fulfilling and I think all healthcare professionals agree that there is nothing more satisfying than knowing that the patient is getting better.”

This piece is brought to you by MOHH.

Do you want to pursue a career in healthcare? The Department of Health offers both local and overseas scholarships across a wide range of health science disciplines in Allied Health (including Podiatry), Pharmacy and Nursing. Applications open from September 2024. Apply here.

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