Podiatry is the field of healthcare specialising in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle and aspects of the lower limb. Common conditions affecting the foot are: toe nail problems, such as ingrown toenails and fungal nail infections, verrucas, and corns & calluses. Our team of specialist podiatrists (chiropodists) diagnose and treat all foot ailments and have a profound knowledge in a variety of specialist areas. We also manage Diabetic patients and other systemic conditions, which involve vascular and neural/neurological assessment.

Sarah Johnson has completed a Masters Degree in Podiatric Biomechanics and is Forest Hill Practice's biomechanical and musculoskeletal expert. She can diagnose and treat foot and podiatry problems affecting all ages, specialising in musculoskeletal ailments and biomechanical dysfunction.
Her expertise in podiatry covers the diagnosis and management of a range of foot conditions: in particular the identification of structural issues that can be associated with pain or injury – looking at the foot as part of a dynamic lower limb system; and not only looking at the feet but also back and knee problems.
Sarah has an in-depth understanding of how the foot moves and interacts with the ground when you walk, enabling her to observe subtle variations in foot function that can lead to increased stress on the skin of the foot leading to blisters, calluses, bunions and more serious podiatry conditions. She also uses a range of advanced diagnostic tools such as barefoot pressure analysis, video gait analysis and biomechanical profiling to ensure the most effective treatment plan.
A full understanding of the podiatry musculoskeletal system allows our podiatrists to treat each individual accordingly, often with a combination of treatments. For example, although orthotics can often play an important role in correcting gait, they alone are not always the answer. A combined therapy programme incorporating stretching and strengthening exercises, or possible lifestyle changes usually needs to be incorporated to achieve the optimum outcome.

Forest Hill Practice has a keen interest in podiatry (chiropody) care for the high risk patient, for example patients with systemic conditions such as Diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis or Rheumatoid Arthritis. Skin and nail conditions of the foot are also common amongst patients with these medical conditions.

Our Podylas laser is one of only 12 in the UK and provides clients with clinically proven and effective removal of fungal nails, verrucas, and thread veins in the lower leg. Low level laser is also a very effective treatment for musculoskeletal problems and provides excellent pain relief.
For certain chronic or more advanced foot and nail conditions such as fungal nails, verrucas, chronic corns, scarring, foot pain, spider veins, etc., standard chiropody procedures sometimes only manage the symptoms rather than treating the cause.
But, with the huge advances in laser technology, our podiatrist can now treat these chronic conditions quickly, effectively and, in some cases, painlessly with our state-of-the-art S30 PODYLAS™ laser — the most powerful laser in an approximate 60-mile radius from our Tarporley, Cheshire podiatry clinic.
Visit our S30 PODYLAS Laser page for more information about this incredible treatment and the many foot and nail conditions it can improve.

Verrucas are caused by a virus and are infected cells present in the outer layers of the skin. With veruca needling, a needle is used to puncture the verruca, moving infected cells deeper into the tissue and thus they are more easily detected by the body's immune system.
The needling procedure is carried out painlessly, after the affected area has been numbed using a local anaesthetic. The verruca is punctured multiple times, this stimulates the body's immune response system into producing antibodies to fight the virus that causes verrucas.
Often only the main lesion needs to be treated which may then result in the spontaneous resolution of all verrucas. Unlike treatments using acids which can need repeated / regular treatment for resilient verrucas, needling usually only requires one application, although sometimes further treatment is needed.
Results should be visible in just a few weeks and most patients experience little, if any, discomfort. A scab forms after the treatment which takes about 4 weeks to drop off.

Our podiatrists offer advice and treatment for painful and troublesome toe nails, also providing preventative maintenance and/or surgery (partial or total nail avulsion) if required. A partial nail avulsion is the removal of a small section of nail with phenolisation under local anaesthesia to give a long-term solution to an involuted or ingrowing toe nail.