Many of the patients who come to the Foot and Ankle Center are intractable diseases that have been introduced, and some are suffering from painful feet that have endured for many years. Unexpectedly, some patients came all the way, but when they spoke, they asked suspiciously: Does the ankle doctor specialize in foot problems? I thought it was a foot massage…; why does the hospital have such a department? Many orthopedic doctors can’t find my foot well, do you have a way…?

A medical subspecialty that everyone avoids
Professor Cheng Yumin of Kaohsiung Medical University famously said that if the orthopedics training was completed and admitted to a specialist department, if he was assigned to foot and ankle surgery by the hospital, he must go home and cry for three days and three nights, because this is a department that no one would want to go to. Such a doctor must be prepared to be hungry; just like to this day I often hear all kinds of doubtful questions from patients.  I won’t lie to you, I also want to cry!

In Taiwan, foot and ankle medicine are unpopular. Being a foot and ankle doctor is even more aggrieved. Not only do many patients fail to distinguish the relationship between foot and ankle medicine and reflexology, but even fellow orthopedic doctors often don’t understand you. What is the specialty? A foot and ankle surgeon once expressed frustration that he returned from studying a foot and ankle specialist abroad. The orthopedic colleague in their hospital turned to amputation and asked him to perform amputation: “This is unreasonable. I will do it. It’s about rebuilding the ankle or saving the foot, but they told me to amputate it? Maybe they didn’t understand it and thought it was good intentions.”

contact doctor

The foot and ankle department has been seriously misunderstood and neglected for a long time. In addition, the old stereotypes in society have led everyone to believe that foot diseases are minor problems, not fatal, and not painful like other fractures. Therefore, lameness can still walk. If you procrastinate, you don’t actively seek medical care. Even if you want to be treated, many people will go to the traumatologist. The patient will be sent to the hospital when it is serious, but you don’t know which department to go to. The hospital usually recommends seeing the orthopedics department. However, ordinary orthopedic doctors are not specialized in the feet, and the treatment effect is of course not good. After a long time, it becomes a vicious circle: if the patient does not come, there are fewer specialists; if the hospital is not treated well, the patients will not come…

Advanced countries in the world regard foot and ankle medicine as a specialized department
In fact, in foreign countries, such as the United States, Europe, and Japan, foot and ankle medicine is very specialized knowledge, and specialized medical associations are responsible for the certification and licensing of specialist physicians. We must not underestimate our ankles and soles, which include 26 bones, 56 joints, and 118 tendons, and on an ankle joint surface measuring ten square centimeters in size, it must bear twice as much when walking and six times as when running. The weight of the body, so whether, in biomechanics or some treatment techniques, foot and ankle medicine is somewhat different from general orthopedic medicine.

Foot and ankle medicine in Taiwan started very late. In 921, only three or four physicians were specializing in this field in Taiwan’s medical field. The first was Dr. Chen Yongren from Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, then Dr. Cheng Yumin from Kaohsiung Medical College, and Professor Wang Chongli from National Taiwan University.

After the 921 earthquakes, Professor Zheng Yumin convened Dr. Wenyi Chen and Dr. Guofeng Gao to Kyoto to participate in the first annual meeting of the IFFAS World Foot and Ankle Medicine Federation. At that time, there was no organization for foot and ankle medicine, but everyone was serious about publishing papers, hoping It shows that Taiwanese doctors have also contributed to the field of foot and ankle medicine. What impressed me deeply was that doctors from all over the world came to greet me: How was Taiwan? I still remember that Professor Zheng Yumin wrote “Come on Taiwan!” at the end when he published his thesis.

After returning to China, Dr. Zheng suggested that we should organize special medical associations. At that time, there were already many sub-specialist medical associations, such as the Hand Surgery Association, the Chiropractic Association, and the Arthroscopy Association. So everyone thought why not set up Taiwan. The Foot and Ankle Medical Association? This was the beginning of the establishment of the Taiwan Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Medical Association.
Areas of expertise of foot and ankle physicians

As for the body area under the control of the foot and ankle doctor, according to the book, it is below the knee, but we still specialize in the foot and ankle joints. Since the activities of the feet are related to the muscles, tendons, and bones of the calves, it is basically From below the calf to the ankle joints that are our specialties! Foot and ankle treatment methods include surgery, drugs, injections, physical therapy, etc. Because the most foot and ankle doctors are from orthopedics, the surgical treatment should be blue. Just a good doctor must start with conservative treatment. That is to say, a good foot and ankle doctor should be able to do something about shoes, insoles, surgery, diagnosis, rehabilitation, and even some sports. Understanding can give the patient the best advice.

At this stage, there are usually two types of patients in the foot and ankle clinic. The first type is referred by other hospitals or doctors, and the second type is obtained from media searches or media reports, and only when they get the special foot and ankle information. Both It is often difficult and miscellaneous, so we have a long time to see the doctor, but the relative health insurance payment is very low because the health insurance payment is based on the money of a patient (number of people), rather than the amount of time the doctor spends to see the patient. . When the foot and ankle doctor has more experience, the time to judge the disease will be shorter and shorter, and the accumulated resources of the foot and ankle doctor will be considerable!

What’s more, based on the health and well-being of the people, we should vigorously promote the public’s knowledge of foot and ankle doctors or foot and ankle specialists. Only in this way can the people receive more professional treatments, and foot and ankle doctors will have more patients. That’s why Even though foot and ankle medicine is still an unpopular department in Taiwan, we still actively operate the foot and ankle medicine association and hold various fixed seminars. We hope that Taiwan will become an advanced country and allow foot and ankle medicine to take root and continue to develop.

Hot blogs:

The Easiest Custom Insoles: Heat Moldable Insoles

January 4, 2024|Comments Off on The Easiest Custom Insoles: Heat Moldable Insoles

Custom insoles, also known as orthotic insoles, are designed to provide personalized support and comfort for individuals with various foot conditions. In [...]

Children’s Insole Size Conversion Chart

December 15, 2023|Comments Off on Children’s Insole Size Conversion Chart

The standard sizes for shoe insoles may vary from country to country, making it a headache to choose the right insole for [...]

Do NBA players use custom insoles?

December 7, 2023|Comments Off on Do NBA players use custom insoles?

Custom insoles are not only helpful for people with foot health issues, but they also play a significant role in targeting the [...]

If you are interested in this product, you can leave a message here and we will contact you as soon as possible


    Share This Product, Choose Your Platform!