Podiatrist Lungiswa is a foot above the rest

POLOKWANE – “If I am saving one foot every day then I am happy.”

Lungiswa Dingilizwe is a podiatrist by profession and she is passionate about saving feet. Podiatry is a branch of medicine that is devoted to the study, diagnosis as well as medical and surgical treatment of disorders relating to feet.

She explained that becoming a podiatrist was not her first choice but after doing her research, she decided that podiatry was something she could consider. She started practicing as a podiatrist 18 years ago and has not looked back since.

“I grew up with foot problems and even in my family there are people who have problems with their feet. As I was studying, I found that I could relate to all these cases and grew into it,” she explained.

Dingilizwe explained her job entails working with sports issues as well as diabetic feet, maintaining and making sure it does not get to the stage of amputation. “It is a job that requires passion because money as a motivation cannot get you through the difficulties that come with the profession,” she added.

Some of the challenges she faces is that with Limpopo being a rural province, people’s understanding of the medical side of dealing with feet is non-existent. The challenge is educating patients as to why they should see a podiatrist and convincing doctors why they should refer patients to her.

It is a fairly new concept and it does not make sense to people. “Our people, if it had anything to do with feet, they opted to go to a traditional healer or a physiotherapist. But you find for instance, a diabetic foot, a physio is not going to do much to prevent the foot from getting worse. By the time they go to a surgeon, it’s too late,” she explained.

Things are gradually changing as people are getting a better understanding of what podiatrists do. In her free time, she enjoys being outdoors in nature where she can de-stress and forget all about life in the city. “I love watching animals without a laptop or cellphone with me that can disrupt the peace and tranquility of nature,” she said.

It is for this reason that she chooses to not relocate to a busier province because she enjoys the pace of Polokwane.