Local podiatrist says feet run in her family

"My patients all call me Dr. Jodi. I consider them my family," said Dr. Jodi Politz, a podiatrist in Summerlin who believes the key to proper foot care is biomechanics, understanding the mechanics of motion and how it affects the body's tissues.

Trained at Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine in Chicago, she's a second-generation podiatrist. Her father, Dr. Murray Politz, was a podiatrist, responsible for establishing practices on the East Coast.

"I started helping my father with patients when I was just a kid," Politz said of her now retired father, who works as a ski instructor in Vale, Colo. She recalls countless hours spent assisting her father with patients.

"He paid me $10 an hour, and I thought that was so cool," she said with a big grin. Her mother is a retired registered nurse, but Politz is the only one of their three children who opted to go into medicine. She even taught people with Down syndrome when she was a teen-ager.

After podiatric school, which Politz described as being, "Just like regular medical school the first two years, except you get to start your hands-on work during your second year," Politz worked her residency at Yale University, where she did general practice as well as podiatric medicine.

Beyond her residency, she worked in private practice for a year in Chicago with another female doctor who she says taught her all about the business end of the medical profession.

That mentoring helped her establish an IPA (Independent/Integrated Physician Association) in her part of Chicago. It is an affiliate program for private practice to improve functions and efficiency.

She was hired by Desert Orthopedic Center for foot and ankle care in Las Vegas three years ago, and she now works in the Summerlin Medical Center with a group of General Practitioners. Her practice is called Mountain Podiatry Ltd.

It isn't just a "factory to cut out ingrown toenails." Many of her patients suffer from diabetes, which often victimizes the feet with severe infections and even gangrene. An avid soccer player herself, she's also heavily involved in sports medicine.

As for the most common foot ailments she deals with, she said, "Every doctor has his or her own Top-10. Mine are diabetic wounds and infections, heal pain, neuroma (pinched nerves), ankle tendenopathy (Achilles tendon), rheumatoid arthritis, ingrown toenails, warts, fungus (in toenails), fractures and pediatric ailments (usually fractures or injuries)."

Because Las Vegas' population has grown so large so quickly, it puts an intense demand on doctors, which creates higher patient averages per doctor.

Politz works on a lot of worker's compensation cases for dancers. She's provided her own support arches, made from her patented plaster molds ("Politz 1," "Politz 2") for dancers in EFX, Storm, Blue Man Group, Mystere, and Lord of the Dance. She's also helped out with sports organizations like the Las Vegas Outlaws of the XFL.

According to Politz, homeopathic treatments, such as reflexology (therapeutic foot massage) can be quite valuable.

"I am very conservative," she said. "Aside from ingrown toenails and similar procedures, I don't perform bone-cutting surgery. If a patient has absolutely no other alternative, then I'll refer them, but I find that most don't need the surgery, and I can help them easily."

Though she's a young woman, she's been learning and practicing medicine her entire life. "To me, podiatry is like reciting the alphabet. It's second nature."

She's seen it all and knows that proper support is crucial. Contrary to popular belief, high heels are actually better for your feet (so long as they're between 1/2 and 2 1/2 inches, and the alignment is correct). They take the strain off women's heels and calves.

"It's when you go from heels to flats that it's a problem," Politz said. She explained that the tendons in the calf have to adjust to stretching and that takes a while.

"Believe it or not, bones mend much faster than tendons. If you break a bone, they take 4 to 6 weeks to heal, but tendons take 6 to 9 (weeks to heal) on average."

She added, "Tackling the biomechanics is crucial. Often, my patients don't need surgery, but the right support (for their shoes) and sometimes medication and or physical therapy."

Even potential drawbacks like foot odor don't bother her. "The only time I really smell feet is when someone has an infection." She's helped a lot of diabetics avert foot disaster with her techniques.

"My goal is always to help people with a warm and comforting bedside manner." she said.