Aujourd’hui, plus de la moitié des français se plaignent de douleurs aux pieds. Ce qui est problématique puisque ce sont ces derniers qui supportent le poids du corps en permanence. De plus, ils entrainent et subissent divers problèmes médicaux : pathologies, malformations, déséquilibres, etc. Ainsi, il ne faut pas négliger leur santé et le bilan podologique est essentiel pour s’en assurer. Il consiste en un examen clinique des pieds et des membres inférieurs en plusieurs étapes.
At Posturokit, we are all the more attentive to this area of the body as it is one of the keys to postural maintenance in an individual. And the podoscope is part of the essential medical equipment for the practice of podiatry and posturology.
Created during the first half of the 20th century, the podoscope was originally a measuring instrument used by shoe salesmen. This device allowed the professional to adjust the shoes to the feet of their customers thanks to the analysis of the position of the feet in the shoes. Since then, the use of the podoscope has evolved to become a medical device now used in podiatry.
The podoscope is a device that allows the static examination of the feet. It is used by the podiatrist (who unlike the pedicure treats pathologies related to the health of the feet) in order to obtain the footprints of a patient to determine his points of support and analyze the arch of the foot.
Thanks to this, the practitioner can study the characteristics of the patient’s feet and deduce possible malformations or pathologies.
Here are some of the symptoms for which treatment and follow-up are necessary and which can be detected using the podoscope:
Following the examination, the professional will be able to suggest solutions to improve the comfort of the feet in order to facilitate walking, relieve pain and resolve posture defects thanks to to medical devices: plantar supports such as custom-made orthopedic insoles, also called plantar orthoses. For certain pathologies, the doctor can also propose other therapeutic solutions and redirect the patient to another health professional in order to relieve him.
In addition to its obvious and essential use in podiatry, the podoscope is now appearing more and more in physiotherapy or osteopathy practices. The detection offered by the podoscope can be very useful to a physiotherapist. Indeed, malformations of the feet can also trigger a postural imbalance impacting the entire frame and therefore requiring rehabilitation.
The use and operation of a podoscope is simple. During the podoscopic examination, the patient stands barefoot and standing on a transparent plate which is located on the upper part of the podoscope. A mirror and a lighting device are placed on the lower part of the device.
The person on the glass, static with their chest and head straight, will exert pressure on the parts of their feet in contact with the plate. The compressed areas, due to a hypovascularization phenomenon, will be highlighted by the device compared to the uncompressed areas. Thus, the podiatrist obtains a very clear view of the sole of his patient’s foot and his plantar supports.
Since this examination is done in a static position, it does not allow the practitioner to directly study the supports in motion. However, certain irregularities detected can make it possible to deduce the behavior of the supports during walking.
Podoscopy can diagnose many pathologies and abnormalities. In particular, the best known, flat feet with an absence of plantar arch or even hollow feet when there is no contact on the outside of the foot. But the examination is also important in order to compare the two feet because the supports, even static, are rarely similar. It is regularly from there that asymmetries in the posture appear.
This tool also offers podiatrists a means of verifying their diagnosis and medical prescriptions. He can validate the support solutions proposed before the manufacture of orthotics and when receiving a new pair of thermoformed insoles before having them worn by the patient.
The choice of a podoscope depends on the use you make of it. There are multiple models, from the most classic to the high-end digital podoscope. Each device has its particular characteristics, some of which must be taken into consideration to select the one for you.
Factors to take into account:
The major difference between podoscopes is in the lighting.
The classic podoscope makes it possible to see the foot prints of a patient thanks to a system of light projected towards the mirror and then towards the bottom of the feet of the latter. It quickly appeared to be essential for podiatrists, but scientific progress and its lack of precision make it a more efficient tool today. Indeed, the practitioner often faces parasitic reflections during its use, which makes the diagnosis difficult or even impossible.
In order to carry out an examination without disturbances and to have more precise results, tangential fluorescent lighting (or polarized light) has been integrated into the podoscope. This technique channels the light in the transparent plate to tangentially illuminate the arch of the foot. This provides a very high quality impression image. Diagnosis is therefore more reliable and rapid. The fingerprints obtained are displayed with different chromatic intensities depending on the areas where the intensity of skin ischemia is different.
This innovation is now the most widely used in podiatry practices, especially since the price is almost equivalent to that of a conventional podoscope.
Now, the technology on this product goes even further with digital podoscopes, linked to a computer. They are connected to digitally obtain the images of the arch of the foot in order to store them and compare them with each other. But there are also electronic podoscopes designed with computer software to obtain precise load distribution using integrated pressure sensors. This functionality appears very useful when one is interested in sports podiatry but also in posturology and when one wishes to study the center of gravity and postural stability of the patient.
The Posturokit new generation podoscope reproduces in real time the distribution of the plantar support surfaces, which helps in their observation to reveal the potential asymmetries of the imprints. Originally designed to be an integral part of the postural assessment, it is perfectly suited to a more conventional practice of podiatry.
It has been designed in such a way as to facilitate the examination as much as possible for the practitioner and for the patient. It stands out with high-brightness LED lighting, allowing interference-free examination even with ambient light in the room. In addition, its platform has been lowered to a height of 17 centimeters, to make it more easily accessible to everyone. Supporting a maximum load of 130kg, it is solid and consumes very little energy.
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