Did you ever wonder what the difference is between a Chiropodist and a Podiatrist?
Well, to understand the difference we need to travel back to World War II. During this time, Chiropractic medicine was becoming more popular. Because of this increase in popularity and the similar sounding names, chiropodists were being confused for chiropractors. Therefore, it was decided that chiropodists would be called podiatrists.
However, because there were not enough Podiatrists in Ontario, the Ontario government adopted a UK foot care model. This meant that anyone who graduated in Ontario after studying to specialize in foot and ankle care became a Chiropodist. This allowed the small number of podiatrists in Ontario to focus on surgical procedures, while Chiropodists could focus on solution-based services such as orthotics.
Both professionals are trained to provide specialized foot and ankle care, but podiatrists can perform surgical procedures on the bones of the foot and order and take X-rays.
Currently, the Chiropody title is only used in Ontario. In fact, there have been no new Podiatrists registered in Ontario for almost 30 years.
Author: Fatima Bah
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