I strongly echo Dr. Levy's call for our
profession to "focus seriously" on the
relationship between podiatric medicine,
cardiovascular disease and other associated
medical problems. Of course, among the top
culprits are the metabolic disorders of obesity,
metabolic syndrome, and diabetes. These
disorders are of epidemic proportions and we
have an invaluable role to play. It seems we
still need to figure out exactly what that role
is.
Dr. Levy's post mentions the example of treating
foot pain for exercise participation. While that
is certainly important, I would also say that we
need to encourage exercise participation for
foot and leg health - a 180 degree perspective.
Just like a healthy heart is necessary for
exercise, and exercise is necessary for a
healthy heart. Foot and leg health is necessary
for exercise, and exercise is necessary for foot
and leg health.
Our profession has historically approached this
topic rather timidly and therefore, in my
opinion, ineffectually. It is time for us to
advance our discussion from primarily within the
realm of physics - with its biomechanical force
vectors and lever arms - to the more abstract
qualitative areas of functional foot and leg
cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and
neuromuscular physiology, and their relationship
to metabolic health and successful aging.
This is a subject that I feel strongly about. So
much so that I have become involved in an
informational blog that discusses
diet/food/nutrition along with
exercise/movement/physical activity, and their
relationship to metabolic health in people with
prediabetes metabolic syndrome. I have also
written an e-book that takes a crack at laying a
foundation upon which podiatric medicine may be
able to develop a conversation regarding this
topic, and perhaps how we should define our role
in these areas.
The book is entitled Stop Prediabetes: Eat
S.A.F.E. and Don't Be a Sea Squirt. It is
available as a free Kindle download.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BHP23FM. You may
also download a PDF from the Blog -
Nutrientology.com. Some will be ambivalent, some
will applaud and others will be appalled. I
welcome feedback from all camps. This is a
discussion that needs to be formally taken to
the next level. If you have an interest in this
area, or you would like to contribute to
Nutrientology, or you simply want to participate
through commentary...all are welcome.
Perhaps the discussion will promote the thought
necessary, as Dr. Levy put it, "for podiatric
physician researchers to measure...the impact of
podiatric medical care...on major contributions
we can make in saving lives or bettering one's
quality of life."
Robert Creighton, DPM, St. Petersburg, FL,
