By Jenny Le-Tran – May 2019
This is a commonly asked question and the short answer is none. Both Podiatrists and chiropodists are healthcare professionals who are trained to assess, diagnose and treat any lower limb conditions. The name was changed from chiropodist to podiatrist in 1993 to fall in line with what we are referred to internationally but both names are still being used interchangeably in the UK. I think this was a positive move as the training of a Podiatrist is constantly changing, it is a mandatory medical based degree training programme and a lot of Podiatrists can choose to specialise by doing post graduation continuing education. Some areas of specialism within Podiatry includes:
MSK – musculoskeletal injuries
Podopaediatrics – lower limb disorders in children
Surgery – Podiatric surgeons are trained to perform a vast array of corrective foot surgeries such as bunions, hammer toes, neuroma excision etc..
Both ‘podiatrist’ and ‘chiropodist’ are regulated terms and are protected by law. This means that anyone calling themselves a podiatrist or a chiropodist must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council.
Here is my HCPC registration: https://www.hcpc-uk.org/check-the-register/professional-registration-detail/?query=Ch13372&profession=CH
