Podiatry Arena

November 2004

Welcome to the first mailing to all registered users of Podiatry Arena.

The site was launched mid October and has achieved 286 registered members; 151 threads; 787 posts - a lot more visit the site than those registered ... so many, that Podiatry Arena has become the second most visited Podiatry web site. See the Alexa rankings for podiatry sites here. Thanks for helping to make it successful. A real communty is developing.

A highlight has got to be the sponsorship from Formthotics of the Caption Competition. Please stop by and leave your entry.

If you haven't visited for a while a lot has been happening:

In the General Issues Forum, there have been discussions on Homoeopathy in Podiatry for Heel Pain, Griseofulvin-v-terbinafine, the controversy surrounding Vioxx, Extra Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy and a thread on undergraduate education contributed to by students and academics. The serious issue of Burnout High Among Podiatrists, generated some fun responses.

In the Biomechanics, Sports and Foot orthoses, two threads have debated foot orthoses: Prefabricated vs custom made foot orthoses and The Pros and Cons of Computerized Foot Orthotic Technology.

A big highlight in the Diabetic Foot Forum was a Diabetic Foot Book Winning Medical Book of the Year. There has also been discussion on New drugs for neuropathic pain,  Toe Blood Pressure To Identify Arterial Disease, Home Monitoring of Foot Skin Temperatures to Prevent Ulceration and the Use of 10g monofilament in diabetic foot assessment.

There has been some interesting comments in the Foot Surgery Forum on Decompression drilling for heel pain and Chemical Agents in Matrixectomies.

The UK Forum has been very active with lots of political hot potatoes such as College of Minimally Invasive Foot and Ankle Surgery, NHS referrals to private practitioners, Podiatry Partnership, Unification, Political Developments, Social nailcare by volunteers. On a positive note, a Podiatrist did win the Therapist of the Year.

A number of issues are facing the profession in Australia: Foot and hand carers, Shortage of Podiatrists and the changes in the Podiatry course at UWS. In the USA Forum, there have been comments on Injectable Silicone, Florida passing the three-strikes malpractice law, MRI backlash: Crackdown on costs of imaging, Resident study: Hours worked do make a difference and Formulary friction: Doctors fear prescription limits. Has anyone heard of Valley Podiatric? - we want more info on them.   

Things have been a bit quieter in the Canada, South Africa and New Zealand forums .... come on team!

The Break Room gets a lot of visits - Bushisms, Anyone following the MMR vaccine and Autism debate?, Worst jobs in science?, Christmas wish list, and Better to be safe than.... 

Thanks to those who have contributed to the discussions; thanks to the Mods who have helped out; thanks to ePodiatry for highlighting the discussion in their newsletter; thanks to all those other sites that have linked to us (SEO).

THANKS for registering and helping make Podiatry Arena so successful so soon.