If you’re struggling with blisters, bunions, corns, ingrown toenails, irritated areas or circulation issues in your feet, a podiatrist in the Sutter Health network can help.

Your podiatrist assesses your feet and ankles; checks your sensitivity as well as your flexibility and balance; and looks for swelling, tenderness, limpness and stiffness. Your podiatrist even investigates how well your shoes fit and determines if they could be causing you problems.

Such visual exams identify many foot problems. Other concerns need a closer look, so your doctor might also recommend an ultrasound, X-ray or other radiographic exam of your foot or ankle.

Your doctor might also suggest a gait analysis to evaluate your movement when walking or running. This helps to reveal a limp, any stiffness and how well your leg bones and feet line up as you move. For a standard gait analysis, the podiatrist watches as you walk across the room or run on a treadmill. In a computerized gait analysis, special cameras and sensors build a computerized image of your movement, allowing for more in-depth analysis of how you land on your feet and move your bones and muscles with each step.