If your podiatrist has suggested you see a physiotherapist, you might be wondering why. Rest assured, this recommendation isn’t because your podiatry treatment hasn’t worked – it’s actually a sign of comprehensive, patient-centred care.
Podiatrists and physiotherapists frequently work together to help people with foot and ankle conditions. They recognise that your foot doesn’t work in isolation – it’s connected to your ankles, knees, hips, and core in one big system.
This team approach is increasingly common throughout regional Victoria, where allied health professionals work together to address what’s causing your pain, not just manage the symptoms. Whether you’re dealing with ongoing heel pain, recovering from ankle surgery, or managing a sports injury, combined podiatry and physiotherapy care can make a real difference to your recovery.
In this article, we’ll explore the most common scenarios where your podiatrist might refer you to a physiotherapist and explain how this collaborative approach supports your overall foot health.
Understanding the Difference Between Podiatry and Physiotherapy
While both podiatrists and physiotherapists play important roles in foot and ankle health, they bring different skills and approaches to your care.
What Podiatrists Specialise In
Podiatrists are specialists in everything feet and ankles. Their expertise includes:
- Diagnosing and managing conditions like bunions, ingrown toenails, plantar warts, and fungal infections
- Assessing how your feet move when you walk or run
- Prescribing custom orthotics (shoe inserts) for support or alignment
- Providing essential diabetic foot care, including wound management and circulation checks
- Recommending appropriate footwear to prevent or manage various foot conditions
What Physiotherapists Bring to Foot Care
Physiotherapists take a whole-body approach to foot and ankle problems. They look at how movement patterns throughout your entire body might be contributing to foot pain. Their skills include:
- Designing strengthening and mobility exercises to restore function and help prevent re-injury
- Using hands-on techniques to work on tight calves, stiff knees, and restricted hips that impact foot function
- Helping people recover after surgery – rebuilding strength, balance, and confidence
- Looking at the bigger picture to understand why problems developed in the first place
The key point: These two professions complement each other. Your podiatrist focuses on the feet themselves, while your physiotherapist addresses the broader movement patterns that influence foot health.
Common Conditions That Benefit from Combined Care
Many foot and ankle conditions respond well to a team approach. Here are the most common scenarios where your podiatrist might recommend physiotherapy.
Plantar Fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis is that stabbing heel pain that’s often worst with your first steps in the morning. It’s one of the most common reasons for referral to physiotherapy.
What your podiatrist does:
- Provides custom orthotics to support your arch and reduce strain
- Uses taping techniques for immediate relief
- Recommends supportive footwear
What your physiotherapist does:
- Works on tight calf muscles (a major contributor to heel pain)
- Designs progressive exercise programs that gradually build strength in your foot and calf
- Uses hands-on therapy to improve movement
- Helps you understand how to manage your activity levels
Research shows that combining orthotic therapy with physiotherapy-led exercise programs leads to better outcomes than either approach alone.
Achilles Tendinopathy
Achilles tendinopathy means pain and stiffness in the thick tendon at the back of your ankle. It needs careful management that addresses both why it happened and how to build the tendon’s strength back up.
Your podiatrist will:
- Conduct a thorough assessment of how you walk and identify any structural issues
- May recommend heel lifts or orthotics to temporarily reduce strain during the painful phase
Your physiotherapist will:
- Design progressive loading programs that gradually strengthen the tendon
- Use specific exercises (often controlled lowering movements) that research shows work well for tendon problems
- Address any weakness or tightness in your calf muscles
- Help athletes manage their training load
Rehabilitation programs like those offered at Ace Allied Health are built around evidence-based approaches to tendon loading, helping you progress safely from pain management back to full activity.
Ankle Sprains and Instability
An ankle sprain might seem straightforward, but without proper rehabilitation, it can lead to ongoing instability and recurring sprains.
Your podiatrist will:
- Perform the initial assessment to rule out fractures
- Evaluate the extent of ligament damage
- Check if your foot structure made you more prone to the sprain
Your physiotherapist will:
- Work on balance exercises to retrain the sensory feedback in your ankle (these receptors are often affected during sprains)
- Implement progressive strengthening to restore stability
- Develop a return-to-sport program if you’re an athlete
Sports physiotherapy services specialise in this type of rehabilitation, helping you return to your activities with confidence.
Post-Surgical Rehabilitation
If you’ve had foot or ankle surgery – bunion correction, Achilles repair, or ankle reconstruction – your podiatrist or orthopaedic surgeon manages the surgical site and monitors healing. Once the initial healing is complete, physiotherapy becomes important for restoring function.
Why physio matters after surgery:
- Surgery inevitably leads to muscle weakness and reduced range of motion
- Movement patterns change and don’t automatically return to normal
- Staged rehabilitation programs respect healing timelines while progressively building strength and mobility
For many patients, Clinical Pilates provides an excellent option for gradual strength building in a controlled, low-impact environment. The equipment allows for precise adjustments to support healing tissues while still providing effective strengthening.
When Biomechanical Issues Require a Bigger Picture Approach
One of the most important reasons podiatrists refer to physiotherapists is when foot problems stem from issues elsewhere in the body. Your body works as an interconnected system, and foot pain is often a symptom rather than the root cause.
Here’s a common example:
Excessive pronation is when your foot rolls inward too much during walking or running. While orthotics can help control this motion, the underlying cause might be weakness in your hip muscles.
When your hip muscles can’t properly control your thigh position, your knee turns inward, which forces your foot to pronate excessively to compensate. No amount of orthotic support will address weak hips.
A real-world scenario:
A recreational runner had recurring plantar fasciitis that wasn’t improving with orthotics and rest. A physiotherapy assessment revealed significant weakness in her hip and glute muscles, causing her knee to collapse inward with each running stride. This created excessive pronation and strain on her heel. Six weeks of targeted hip strengthening, combined with continued orthotic use, resolved her heel pain.
An exercise physiologist or physiotherapist can design targeted strengthening programs that address these underlying weaknesses, creating lasting improvement rather than just managing symptoms.
The Diabetic Foot Care Team
For people living with diabetes, foot care requires a coordinated team approach. Diabetes affects circulation, nerve sensation, immune function, and wound healing – all factors that increase the risk of serious foot complications.
Your podiatrist’s role:
- Regular foot health checks
- Managing any wounds or ulcers
- Addressing pressure points that could lead to skin breakdown
- Ensuring you have appropriate footwear
Your physiotherapist/exercise physiologist’s role:
- Designing safe exercise programs that improve circulation to your feet and legs
- Strengthening and balance exercises to reduce fall risk (particularly important if you have reduced sensation in your feet)
- Helping with mobility and gait modifications if you have active foot ulcers
Your dietitian’s role:
- Helping manage blood glucose levels
- Better blood sugar control means improved wound healing and reduced risk of complications
At clinics like Ace Allied Health in Bendigo, Castlemaine, and Maryborough, patients can access dietetics, exercise physiology, and physiotherapy all under one roof for comprehensive diabetic care. This integrated approach is particularly valuable for NDIS participants who may need coordinated support from multiple allied health providers
What to Expect When You’re Referred to a Physiotherapist
Understanding what happens next can help you feel more prepared and confident about the process.
The referral process:
- Your podiatrist will typically provide a referral letter with your diagnosis and their treatment to date
- This ensures your physiotherapist has all the relevant information from the start
Your first appointment:
- Discussion about your symptoms, medical history, and activity level
- Physical examination including movement screening and strength/flexibility testing
- Often an analysis of how you walk or run
- Assessment of your knee, hip, and core function (not just your foot and ankle)
Treatment typically includes:
- Hands-on techniques to improve joint mobility and reduce muscle tightness
- Specific exercises you’ll do both in the clinic and at home
- Education about activity modification, footwear, and self-management strategies
How often you’ll attend:
- Initially, you might attend once or twice weekly
- Appointments gradually space out as you improve and become more independent with your exercises
- Your physiotherapist will communicate with your podiatrist throughout to ensure coordinated care
Conclusion
If your podiatrist refers you to a physiotherapist, it’s a positive sign that you’re receiving comprehensive, evidence-based care. This referral doesn’t mean your podiatry treatment has failed – quite the opposite. It demonstrates your podiatrist’s commitment to addressing not just your symptoms but the underlying factors contributing to your foot problem.
Combined podiatry and physiotherapy care addresses all factors that influence foot health – from the structure of your feet to the strength and movement patterns throughout your entire body. This integrated approach supports better outcomes, smoother recovery, and reduced risk of recurring problems.
If you’re experiencing ongoing foot or ankle pain, don’t hesitate to ask your podiatrist whether physiotherapy might support your recovery.
