Every figure on this page links to the organization that produced it, and each was re-checked against that source before publishing. How U.S. podiatrists and podiatry practices use video, and the numbers behind foot and ankle care: our YouTube Data API read of the 548 most-viewed ‘podiatrist’, ‘foot doctor’ and ‘bunion surgery’ videos; our counts from CMS Medicare files (podiatrists billing Medicare, payments, the codes they bill and Palm Beach, Broward and Martin county totals); BLS and Census workforce, pay and office data; Medicare foot care and therapeutic shoe rules and Florida’s podiatry law; the training pipeline; CDC diabetes data and studies of foot care education and video quality; and where the popular podiatry numbers came from.
Podiatrists and podiatry practices posting as themselves made 59.7% of the on-topic videos among YouTube’s most-viewed podiatrist, foot doctor and bunion surgery results and drew 70.6% of their views (our read, Nov 7, 2026). (Mark Studios)See details
Videos titled about corns, calluses, warts, toenails or fungus drew 54.5% of those views, and videos of 60 seconds or less drew 74.1%. (Mark Studios)See details
Florida-placed channels drew 3.3% of the views; 2 channels placed themselves in Palm Beach, Broward or Martin County. (Mark Studios)See details
15,526 podiatrists billed Medicare Part B fee-for-service in 2024, and Medicare’s payments to podiatrists rose 58.6% from 2019, before inflation. (CMS)See details
BLS counted 9,680 wage-and-salary podiatrist jobs in May 2025 at a median of $160,300; in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro the median was $98,550. (BLS)See details
The “75% of Americans will have foot pain in their lifetime” line has no lifetime survey behind it: APMA’s 2018 figure was 75% of adults with foot problems now, and APMA’s own walking figure is 75,000 miles by age 50, not 100,000 in a lifetime. (APMA)See details
Who makes the most-viewed podiatry videos on YouTube?
Podiatrists do. Podiatrists and podiatry practices posting as themselves made 59.7% of the on-topic videos among the most-viewed podiatrist, foot doctor and bunion surgery videos on YouTube on November 7, 2026, and drew 70.6% of their lifetime views (our count). We read YouTube's own view-sorted search results for 'podiatrist', 'foot doctor' and 'bunion surgery', the first four pages for each, through the YouTube Data API with no country filter, and classified every channel by hand from its own title, description and video text. The three lists held 548 unique videos from 229 channels, with 2,222,633,180 lifetime views in all. They barely overlapped: 36 videos were in two lists and none was in all three. 548 includes a few off-topic videos from games, pranks and makeup channels, which drew 4.4% of the views; leaving them out leaves 541 on-topic videos with 2,124,293,791 views, and the median one had 457,238 views.
63 podiatrist or podiatry practice channels appeared, and 44 of them called themselves podiatrists, DPMs or podiatric practices in their own text; the rest used only 'foot doctor' or foot-and-ankle surgeon wording, and a few were non-physician podologists in Latin America and Europe. We did not check any licence. The median podiatry-channel video had 527,502 views.
How much of podiatry YouTube comes from a few channels?
Most of it. The three biggest channels, Ergonx, Dr. Dana Figura and the Khosroabadi Institute, drew 54.9% of the on-topic views on November 7, 2026, and the ten biggest drew 77.4% (our count). Ergonx, an Australian podiatry channel posting corn and callus removals, drew 27.0% on its own; its 37-second 'Expert Australian Podiatrist Removes Painful Corns with Precision' was the most-viewed video in the sample, with 370,611,966 views. The ten most-viewed videos drew 47.8% of all on-topic views.
Dr. Dana Figura (Foot Doc Dana), a U.S. podiatrist, posted 55 of the on-topic videos, more than any other channel, drew 17.7% of the views and had 4,610,000 subscribers; 28 of her videos in the sample were 'Doctor reacts' videos. DC Foot Doctor, the channel of Washington, DC podiatrist Dr. Kevin Jefferson, posted 45, mostly long callus and wound-care videos. The Khosroabadi Institute's 20-second 'How Taping Helps Plantar Fasciitis' had 113,501,913 views, the most of any video that was not a removal.
Who else posts foot and bunion videos?
Other doctors and clinicians come second. Orthopedic surgeons, physical therapists, chiropractors, dermatologists and other physicians made 11.5% of the on-topic videos on November 7, 2026 and drew 10.0% of the views, across 49 channels (our count). Orthopedic surgeons and practices drew only 0.8% of the views. Pedicure, nail and beauty technicians drew 2.2%.
Media, TV, news, podcast and entertainment channels made 6.8% of the on-topic videos and drew 5.6% of the views. TLC and Discovery clip channels showing 'My Feet Are Killing Me' posted 16, and local TV news stations posted 3, all about a newer bunion surgery. Education and health-system channels, including universities, governments, hospital systems and patient-education publishers, made 4.3% and drew 1.8%; patient-education publishers such as ViewMedica's Viz Medical and PreOp.com posted 10, and careers and training channels such as NHS Health Careers and the UTRGV School of Podiatric Medicine posted 5. Brands and sellers, from orthotic shoe makers to surgical-device companies, drew 0.4%. Patients and families, mostly with bunion-surgery recovery vlogs, posted 22 videos and drew 0.3%. Faceless, animation and re-post channels drew 8.1%.
Where are the podiatry channels based, and do Florida practices appear?
About half the views go to U.S. podiatrists. U.S.-placed podiatrists and podiatry practices posted 43.8% of the on-topic videos on November 7, 2026 and drew 42.0% of the views; podiatrists outside the United States, from Australia, the UK, Singapore and elsewhere, drew 28.5% (our count). Channels whose country setting was the United States posted 60.8% of the on-topic videos and drew 55.3% of the views.
8 channels placed themselves in Florida in their own text and drew 3.3% of the on-topic views. The podiatry practices among them posted 25 videos: Healthy Feet Podiatry and Bayshore Podiatry Center in the Tampa area, JAWS Podiatry in Hollywood, and Luxe Foot Surgery and Dr. Imaze Marian Davis in Miami. Channels placed in Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach County drew 0.3% of the views. Only 2 channels placed themselves in Palm Beach, Broward or Martin County: JAWS Podiatry and the Miami-Fort Lauderdale station WPLG Local 10.
We also read those Florida practices' own channels. Together they posted 439 videos in the year to November 7, 2026, with a median of 2,275 views, and 68.8% ran 60 seconds or less (our count). JAWS Podiatry had 1,780,000 subscribers and its uploads in the year had a median of 4,836.5 views. Healthy Feet Podiatry had 810,000 subscribers but had not posted since December 25, 2025. Bayshore Podiatry Center's uploads in the year had a median of 610 views; 87.2% of Luxe Foot Surgery's uploads in the year were 60 seconds or less; and Dr. Imaze Marian Davis had 182 subscribers.
What are the most-viewed podiatry videos about?
Removals. Titles about corns, calluses, warts, toenails or fungus made 29.2% of the on-topic videos on November 7, 2026 but drew 54.5% of the views, and 123 of them came from podiatrists' own channels (our count, a regex on titles with every match read by hand). Titles with words like 'satisfying', 'huge', 'extreme' or 'insane' made 11.8% of the videos and drew 25.1% of the views, with a median of 2,005,265.5 views. 'Doctor reacts' videos drew 15.0%.
Bunions are common but draw less. Titles naming bunions or hallux valgus made 36.2% of the on-topic videos and drew 9.0% of the views. 146 titles were about bunion surgery itself, with a median of 84,294 views, and 66 of those came from podiatrists. 30 were about minimally invasive surgery, and 42 were about recovery after surgery, many of them from patients' own channels. In the 'bunion surgery' list, faceless, animation and re-post channels drew 29.0% of the views and podiatrists 23.7%; in the on-topic 'podiatrist' list, podiatrists drew 90.5%.
Plantar fasciitis and heel pain videos were few but drew 8.4% of the views. 38 titles were about shoes, sneakers or orthotics, most of them from podiatrists; 20 were about diabetic feet, wounds, ulcers or neuropathy, nearly all from podiatrists; and 28 were about fixing foot problems without surgery, with exercises, taping or correctors.
How long and how new are the most-viewed podiatry videos?
Short videos carry most of the views. Videos of 60 seconds or less were 39.7% of the on-topic videos on November 7, 2026 and drew 74.1% of their views (our count). The median short had 836,821 views, against 338,326.5 for longer videos. 39.0% of on-topic videos were published in 2024 or later, 15.3% before 2020, and 79 in the year before our read. YouTube's made-for-kids flag was set on 3 videos, all of them bunion-surgery videos from two foot surgeons' channels, and its altered or synthetic content field was absent from all of them (our read of videos.list part=status).
How many podiatrists practice in the U.S., and what do their associations report?
APMA's membership records held 10,799 doctors of podiatric medicine in September 2026, as tabulated by the American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine (AACPM) (AACPM). That counts APMA members, not every licensed podiatrist. AACPM's recruiting site, citing APMA without a year or method, puts the number of full-time practicing podiatrists at approximately 15,000 (AACPM). Both are association figures; the BLS and CMS counts on this page come from government data.
The same AACPM page says the median salary reported by APMA members is $260,000 a year (AACPM). It prints the median for members of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons two ways: $368,461 in its FAQ (AACPM) and $368,421 a few paragraphs earlier (AACPM). Neither survey's sample or year is given, and the ACFAS survey itself is not on a public page. The page also says a podiatrist works on average just over 40 hours per week, with no source named (AACPM).
APMA's September 2026 records show how far the profession's makeup trails the U.S. population. Black or African American doctors were 3.2% of DPM records, against 13.4% of the 2020 population (AACPM), and Hispanic or Latino doctors were 2.6% (AACPM). Ethnicity was blank on 29.3% of the records (AACPM), so these shares are shares of all records.
Who certifies podiatrists, and how do they keep learning?
The Council on Podiatric Medical Education (CPME) recognizes 2 specialty certifying boards: the American Board of Podiatric Medicine and the American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery (ABFAS) (CPME). Neither board publishes a count of certified members on a page we could read. ABFAS's advertising policy for certified surgeons, revised April 13, 2024, covers websites, social media, email, television and radio (ABFAS), so a practice video that names board certification falls under it.
CPME accredits 56 continuing education providers for podiatrists, led by state associations (CPME). Together they offer 1,416 activities (CPME). On-demand education is the most common format at 59.6% of activities, or 844 (CPME); webinars, internet-live and in-person activities make up another 34.1% (CPME). CPME does not split out video, but most on-demand CE is recorded.
Can a podiatry channel get YouTube's health source label?
YouTube's health features (source information panels and the health content shelf) require a licensed professional's or organisation's channel to have more than 1,500 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months, or 1.5 million valid public Shorts views in 90 days (YouTube). The eligible professions start with "Licensed Doctor (eligible to practice medicine in the relevant country)" and add nurses, psychologists, marriage and family therapists and clinical social workers (YouTube). Podiatrists are not named; whether a DPM counts as a licensed doctor is settled in review, where LegitScript checks licences (YouTube).
YouTube says it decides on an application in about 1-2 months, and accepted channels may surface in 2-3 months (YouTube). The process runs in 10 countries, including the US (YouTube). Groups such as accredited hospitals, academic medical centres and public health departments qualify without applying (YouTube); a hospital-based foot and ankle program may qualify through its hospital, a private practice must apply. "Certain types of for profit healthcare brands" and channels run by drug, insurance or medical device companies are not eligible (YouTube).
What do Google's ad rules mean for podiatry ads?
Google Ads lists Health among its sensitive interest categories (Google), and advertisers in those categories cannot use advertiser-curated audiences such as uploaded patient lists (Google). A podiatry practice's YouTube or search ads therefore reach people by keyword, place and content, not by a list of its patients. U.S. telemedicine providers that facilitate prescribing may advertise only if certified by LegitScript (Google). Meta's health ad rules are not cited here: its policy site blocks AI crawlers in robots.txt.
How often do public companies mention podiatry in their annual reports?
12 Form 10-K annual reports filed in 2025 contained the word "podiatry", against 13 in 2001 and a peak of 29 in 2015 (our calculation from SEC EDGAR full-text search). From 2001 to 2025, 436 10-Ks by 114 companies used the word (our calculation). The filers are mostly wound care, biologics and device makers, hospital operators and senior living companies; private podiatry practices file no 10-K.
The plural tells a different story. 404 10-Ks filed in 2025 said "podiatrists", up from 19 in 2001 (our calculation), but 97.3% of them (393 of 404) also contain "chiropractors" and "transfers of value", the wording drug and device makers use to describe Sunshine Act payment reporting (our calculation). Leaving the plural out, 23 10-Ks filed in 2025 contained "podiatry", "podiatrist" or "podiatric", down from 41 in 2015 (our calculation). The yearly counts, filer names and query links are in our EDGAR counts file.
How many podiatrists bill Medicare?
CMS's Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners file lists 15,526 podiatrists who billed Medicare Part B fee-for-service in 2024 (CMS). That is 1.2% of the 1,296,739 provider records of all specialties in the same file (CMS; our calculation). The file counts only original Medicare claims: podiatrists who saw only Medicare Advantage patients, or no Medicare patients, are not in it.
The count has barely moved. CMS's 2019 file lists 15,463 podiatrists (CMS), so the number rose 0.4% in five years (our calculation). In Florida it rose 3.9%, from 1,215 in 2019 (CMS) to 1,262 in 2024 (CMS). Florida holds 8.1% of the U.S. total (our calculation).
Podiatrists billing Medicare Part B fee-for-service in 2024, five largest states, CMS Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners by Provider file
Most practise in cities: 87.6% of podiatrists billing Medicare in 2024 have an address CMS codes as a metropolitan core (RUCA 1) (our calculation from the CMS file).
How much does Medicare pay podiatrists?
Medicare paid podiatrists $2.55 billion (2,550,440,858) for Part B fee-for-service services in 2024, summing CMS's by Provider file (our calculation). In 2019 it paid $1.61 billion (1,608,166,376), so payments rose 58.6% in five years before inflation (our calculation). Podiatrists billed 34,038,886 services in 2024 (our calculation). Summed across podiatrists, the file counts 5,797,249 beneficiary-provider pairs; a patient seen by two podiatrists counts twice, so this is not a count of people (our calculation).
The typical podiatrist's Medicare income is far smaller than the total suggests. The median podiatrist received $75,349 from Medicare Part B in 2024; the median Florida podiatrist received $100,836 (our calculation). Medicare paid Florida podiatrists $269.4 million (269,448,873) in 2024, up from $163.1 million (163,089,740) in 2019 (our calculation). The number of podiatrists paid $1 million or more rose from 17 in 2019 to 281 in 2024 (our calculation).
Much of that growth is products, not visits. Drugs and biologicals, the lines CMS flags as drugs, were 19.1% of the Medicare payments on podiatrists' non-suppressed service lines in 2024 (our calculation). Skin substitute products (HCPCS Q41xx-Q42xx), used on wounds such as diabetic foot ulcers, drew $316.4 million (316,391,889) on podiatrists' lines, billed by 126 podiatrists (our calculation from CMS's provider-and-service file, which suppresses lines with fewer than 11 beneficiaries).
What do podiatrists bill Medicare for most?
Nail debridement of six or more nails (HCPCS 11721) is the service podiatrists billed most in 2024: 5,192,771 services, for which Medicare paid $162.7 million (162,677,814) (our calculation from CMS's provider-and-service file). 11,680 podiatrists billed it in an office setting to 11 or more beneficiaries (CMS). Low-complexity established-patient office visits (HCPCS 99213) are the biggest by payment: 4,477,869 services and $291.9 million (291,857,854) (our calculation). Paring of two to four corns or calluses (HCPCS 11056) came to 1,764,409 services and $104.1 million (104,097,949) (our calculation).
Some nail and skin care is close to a podiatry monopoly. Across all specialties, Medicare paid for 5,082,205 office-setting services of HCPCS 11721 in 2024 (CMS), delivered to 1,856,557 beneficiaries (CMS) by 15,254 providers (CMS). The average Medicare payment per office service was $31.90 (CMS). Podiatrists did at least 97.2% of those services (our calculation). 2,820 podiatrists billed trimming of dystrophic nails (HCPCS G0127) in an office (CMS), and 4,352 billed skin and tissue debridement up to 20 square centimetres (HCPCS 11042) (CMS).
Office-setting Medicare Part B services of four foot-care codes, all specialties, and the podiatry share, 2024 (CMS by Geography and Service file; podiatry share is our calculation and a floor)
Nail debridement volume is falling. Office-setting services of HCPCS 11721 fell 22.5% from 6,559,904 in 2019 (CMS), and the number of beneficiaries receiving it fell 21.7% from 2,370,431 (CMS; our calculation). These files cover original Medicare only, so part of the drop may reflect patients moving to Medicare Advantage.
Podiatrists' patients are older and often diabetic. For the median podiatrist, 43% of Medicare patients had diabetes in 2024, and women were 58.2% of podiatrists' Medicare patients where CMS reports sex counts (our calculation from the by Provider file).
How many podiatrists bill Medicare in Palm Beach, Broward and Martin counties?
149 podiatrists with a Palm Beach County practice address billed Medicare Part B fee-for-service in 2024, 128 in Broward County and 18 in Martin County (our count from CMS's by Provider file, matching each ZIP code to a county with the Census Bureau's 2020 ZIP-county relationship file). The three counties hold 23.4% of Florida's podiatrists billing Medicare (our calculation). Miami-Dade has 176 (our count). A podiatrist with offices in two counties appears once, at the address CMS lists.
Podiatrists billing Medicare Part B fee-for-service and Medicare payments to them, four South Florida counties, 2019 and 2024 (our calculation from CMS by Provider files)
Martin County stands out: its podiatrists received $654,793 each from Medicare Part B on average in 2024 (our calculation). A few high billers can move a small county's average, so read it as a county total, not a typical practice.
How many Medicare patients get therapeutic shoes for diabetes?
220,231 Medicare beneficiaries were supplied off-the-shelf diabetic depth-inlay shoes (HCPCS A5500) in 2024, in CMS's DMEPOS by Geography and Service file (CMS). Suppliers billed 439,506 shoes (CMS), at an average Medicare payment of $65.50 per shoe (CMS). 62,303 referring providers of all specialties ordered them (CMS).
Inserts go with the shoes. 108,440 beneficiaries were supplied prefabricated heat-molded diabetic inserts (HCPCS A5512) (CMS), 635,763 units in all (CMS), and 47,230 were supplied custom-molded inserts (HCPCS A5513) (CMS), 256,912 units (CMS).
Podiatrists order a large share. 2,613 podiatrists have a row for ordering A5500 shoes in CMS's 2024 referring-provider file (CMS). They ordered at least 30.6% of A5500 shoes and at least 25.1% of A5512 inserts (our calculation; rows under 11 beneficiaries are suppressed, so these are floors). In Florida, 16,237 beneficiaries were supplied A5500 shoes (CMS), 7.4% of the U.S. total (our calculation).
How many podiatrists work in the U.S.?
Podiatrists held 9,680 wage and salary jobs in the U.S. in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey of employers (BLS). That count leaves out podiatrists who own their practice and pay themselves as self-employed. The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which adds the self-employed, puts the profession at about 10,000 jobs in 2025 (BLS).
In May 2019 OEWS counted 9,770 wage and salary podiatrist jobs (BLS), so the count fell 0.9% over six years (our calculation). BLS advises caution when comparing OEWS estimates across years.
Where do podiatrists work?
Offices of other health practitioners, the industry group that holds podiatry offices, employed 59% of U.S. podiatrists in 2025, per the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook (BLS). Offices of physicians employed 17% and the federal government (excluding the postal service) employed 10% (BLS).
In OEWS terms, offices of other health practitioners (NAICS 6213) employed 5,850 wage and salary podiatrists in May 2025 (BLS), and offices of physicians (NAICS 6211) employed 1,640 (BLS). BLS does not publish a staffing pattern for offices of podiatrists (NAICS 621391) alone. Across the whole 6213 group, which also holds chiropractors, optometrists and therapists, employers counted 63,000 medical assistants (BLS) and 60,490 receptionists and information clerks (BLS) in May 2025: the front-desk and clinical staff who answer the phone and prepare patients.
How much do podiatrists earn?
The median annual wage for U.S. podiatrists was $160,300 in May 2025, per BLS OEWS (BLS). The mean was $175,480 (BLS). A quarter earned less than $103,730 (BLS) and a quarter earned more than $225,910 (BLS). These figures cover wage and salary podiatrists only, not practice owners' profits.
The May 2019 median was $126,240 (BLS). The median rose 27.0% between May 2019 and May 2025, before adjusting for inflation (our calculation).
How many podiatrists work in Florida and South Florida, and what do they earn?
Florida had 870 wage and salary podiatrist jobs in May 2025, per BLS OEWS (BLS), or 9.0% of the U.S. total (our calculation). The state's median annual wage for podiatrists was $138,340 (BLS) and the mean was $150,570 (BLS). In May 2019 OEWS counted 760 podiatrist jobs in Florida (BLS).
The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro area, which covers Palm Beach and Broward counties, had 280 wage and salary podiatrist jobs in May 2025 (BLS), against 260 in May 2019 (BLS). The metro median wage was $98,550 (BLS) and the mean $126,910 (BLS), both below the Florida and U.S. figures. BLS published no podiatrist estimate for the Port St. Lucie metro area, which holds Martin County, for May 2025.
How fast is podiatrist employment expected to grow?
BLS projects podiatrist employment to grow 2 percent from 2025 to 2035, slower than the average for all occupations (BLS), from 10,000 to 10,200 jobs (BLS). It expects about 200 openings a year over the decade, mostly to replace podiatrists who retire or change careers (BLS).
How many podiatry offices are there in the U.S.?
The Census Bureau's County Business Patterns counted 7,523 employer offices of podiatrists (NAICS 621391) in the U.S. in 2023, with 35,977 paid employees in mid-March (Census). A further 3,261 podiatry businesses had no paid staff and filed taxes as nonemployers in 2023 (Census), so nonemployers were 30.2% of the podiatry businesses Census counted that year (our calculation). Census Nonemployer Statistics counted 3,348 nonemployer podiatry businesses in 2024, with receipts of $322,219 thousand (Census).
BLS's Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), which counts employers covered by unemployment insurance, averaged 6,494 private podiatry offices in 2025 (BLS), down from 7,110 in 2019 (BLS): a fall of 8.7% (our calculation). They employed an average of 32,365 people in 2025 (BLS), against 34,586 in 2019 (BLS), a fall of 6.4% (our calculation). Average annual pay across all jobs in those offices, from front desk to podiatrist, was $64,675 in 2025 (BLS).
How big is a typical podiatry practice?
Most podiatry offices are small. Of the 7,523 employer offices in 2023, 4,736 had fewer than 5 employees, per County Business Patterns (Census): 63.0% of the total (our calculation). Another 2,060 had 5 to 9 employees, and 148 had 20 or more (Census).
No chain dominates. The 4 largest firms took 4.8% of the industry's receipts in 2022, per the 2022 Economic Census (Census), and the 50 largest took 17.6% out of 6,546 firms (Census).
How much revenue do podiatry offices earn?
U.S. employer offices of podiatrists had receipts of $5,366,809 thousand ($5.37 billion) in 2022 across 7,461 establishments, per the 2022 Economic Census, the Census Bureau's full count of businesses every five years (Census). That is about $719.3 thousand per office (our calculation). In 2017 the same industry took in $4,621,008 thousand across 8,104 establishments (Census), so receipts rose 16.1% in five years before inflation while the number of offices fell (our calculation). The Census Bureau's Annual Integrated Economic Survey estimates 2024 receipts at $5,639,018 thousand, up 5.8% from 2023 (Census).
The 2022 Economic Census did not publish a breakdown of podiatry revenue by payer (Medicare, private insurance, patients). It did break receipts down by the patient's primary diagnosis. Musculoskeletal and connective tissue conditions (ICD-10 M00-M99) made up 36.8% (Census). Skin and subcutaneous tissue conditions, which include nail and skin problems, made up 26.8% (Census). Endocrine and metabolic diseases, the ICD-10 chapter that includes diabetes, made up 6.6% (Census); diabetic foot care may also be coded under skin or circulatory diagnoses.
How many podiatry offices earn money from telemedicine?
1,278 of the 7,461 U.S. employer offices of podiatrists reported some revenue from telemedicine services in 2022, per the 2022 Economic Census (Census), or 17.1% (our calculation). The table counts offices with any telemedicine revenue; it does not say how much of their revenue came from it.
How much do podiatry and similar offices spend on advertising?
U.S. offices of other health practitioners (NAICS 6213, which includes chiropractors, optometrists, therapists and podiatrists) spent $1,549,415 thousand, about $1.55 billion, on purchased advertising and promotional services in 2024, per the Census Bureau's Annual Integrated Economic Survey (Census). Census does not publish the figure for podiatry offices alone.
How many podiatry offices are there in Florida and in Palm Beach, Broward and Martin counties?
Florida had 661 employer offices of podiatrists in 2023, with 3,118 paid employees, per County Business Patterns (Census), and 323 nonemployer podiatry businesses in 2024, per Nonemployer Statistics (Census). Florida offices had receipts of $437,586 thousand in 2022 across 659 establishments, per the 2022 Economic Census (Census). QCEW averaged 615 private podiatry offices in Florida in 2025 (BLS), employing 3,220 people (BLS).
Together the three counties had 179 employer podiatry offices in 2023 (our calculation). County Business Patterns counts offices with any paid employee in March; QCEW averages the offices covered by unemployment insurance over the year, so the two counts differ. QCEW published 2025 county figures for all three counties with no suppressed cells.
How many Americans have diabetes, the main driver of podiatry's foot-ulcer and amputation work?
CDC estimates that 40.1 million people in the United States had diagnosed or undiagnosed diabetes in 2023, or 12.0% of the population (CDC). Of them, 29.1 million had a diagnosis, including 28.8 million adults (CDC), and 27.6% of adults with diabetes had not been diagnosed, about 11.0 million people (CDC). A further 115.2 million U.S. adults had prediabetes (CDC). These figures come from CDC's National Diabetes Statistics Report, last updated September 16, 2026.
Nerve damage is the usual route from diabetes to a foot problem. CDC says about half of all people with diabetes have some kind of nerve damage, most often in the feet and legs, which can take away the feeling that warns of an injury (CDC). Its consumer page gives no survey or year for that share.
How common are diabetic foot ulcers, and how often do they come back?
A 2023 JAMA review by David Armstrong and colleagues estimates that about 1.6 million people in the United States have a diabetic foot ulcer each year, out of 18.6 million worldwide (JAMA). A 2023 review in Diabetes Care by Johns Hopkins and Manchester researchers puts the lifetime risk of a foot ulcer for a person with diabetes at 19% to 34% (Diabetes Care). Both are summaries of earlier studies, not new counts.
Healing is slow and relapse is the norm. The same 2023 JAMA review says about 30% to 40% of diabetic foot ulcers heal within 12 weeks (JAMA), and that 42% of healed ulcers recur within one year and 65% within five years (JAMA). The review puts 5-year mortality after a diabetic foot ulcer at about 30%, and above 70% after a major amputation (JAMA). A 2020 meta-analysis in the Journal of Foot and Ankle Research of studies published from 2007 to 2017 found pooled 5-year mortality of 30.5% after a diabetic foot ulcer and 56.6% after a major amputation, against 31.0% pooled for all reported cancers (Journal of Foot and Ankle Research).
How many lower-limb amputations are linked to diabetes, and are rates falling?
CDC states that 80% of lower-limb amputations in the United States are a result of complications from diabetes; its page gives no year or data source for that share (CDC). The 2023 JAMA review says diabetic foot ulcers precede 80% of lower-extremity amputations among people with diabetes (JAMA). Rates are not equal: CDC reports that in 2019 Black adults with diabetes were 30% more likely to have a lower-limb amputation than White adults with diabetes (CDC).
The long decline in amputation rates has reversed. A CDC team led by Linda Geiss used the Nationwide Inpatient Sample and National Health Interview Survey to track nontraumatic lower-extremity amputations among U.S. adults with diabetes. Age-adjusted rates fell 43% from 2000 to 2009 (Diabetes Care), then rose 50% from 2009 to 2015, to 4.62 amputations per 1,000 adults with diabetes (Diabetes Care). The rise was driven by a 62% increase in minor amputations of toes and feet (Diabetes Care). The 2023 Diabetes Care review says amputation incidence has since risen by as much as 50% in some regions after the long decline, especially among younger and minority patients (Diabetes Care).
What do diabetic foot ulcers cost Medicare?
In a matched claims study of 27,878 pairs of Medicare patients from 2007 to 2010, a diabetic foot ulcer added $11,710 a year in health care costs per patient compared with similar patients with diabetes but no ulcer, in 2012 dollars (Diabetes Care). Within 12 months, 3.8% of the Medicare ulcer patients and 5.0% of the privately insured ones had a lower-limb amputation (Diabetes Care).
Wound care is moving into the office. A Medicare claims analysis covering diabetic foot ulcers and all other chronic wounds found Medicare payments for wound care in physician offices rose from $3.0 billion in 2014 to $4.1 billion in 2019, while hospital outpatient payments fell (Journal of Medical Economics). Its authors include wound-care industry and Alliance of Wound Care Stakeholders members.
786 people applied to at least one U.S. podiatric medical school for the 2026-27 academic year, AACPM counted (AACPM). That is down from 937 in the 2023 cycle (AACPM) and from a 2017-2026 peak of 1,006 in 2020 (AACPM): a 21.9% fall from the peak (our calculation). The 2023-2026 counts include two schools added in 2023. In 2026, 12.3% of applicants identified as Black or African American (AACPM), against 3.2% of APMA member DPMs.
AACPM lists 11 accredited colleges and schools of podiatric medicine (AACPM), one of them Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida. The association also says it represents over 200 hospitals and organizations that run graduate training (AACPM).
How many podiatry students enroll each year?
AACPM's own figures for fall 2026 disagree. Its statistics page says 470 first-year students entered in fall 2026 (AACPM), but its enrollment table counts 586 students in the class of 2030, the class that entered that fall (AACPM). The table adds up and 470 matches the class of 2027, so the page sentence may be stale. Across all four classes the colleges enrolled 1,992 students in 2026-27 (AACPM).
How many new podiatrists graduate each year?
U.S. colleges of podiatric medicine conferred 497 DPM degrees in 2026, college registrars reported to AACPM (AACPM). That was 11.3% fewer than the 560 of 2025 (AACPM) (our calculation), and below the 550 of 2022 (AACPM). Women earned 278 of the 2026 degrees (AACPM), or 55.9% (our calculation).
Barry University School of Podiatric Medicine conferred 63 DPM degrees in 2026 (AACPM), 12.7% of the national total (our calculation). CPME reports Barry's 2023-2025 four-year graduation rate as 86% (CPME). Across nine colleges the rates ran from 71% at the New York College of Podiatric Medicine (CPME) to 87% at Temple University (CPME).
Do podiatry graduates get residencies?
Nearly all do. CPME's 2023-2025 averages put Barry's residency placement rate at 100% (CPME); the lowest of nine colleges was Samuel Merritt University at 95% (CPME). AACPM's recruiting site says 100% of graduates who applied for residency in 2022 were placed (AACPM). The podiatric medicine and surgery residency is 3 years of postgraduate training (AACPM).
CPME's list of accredited residencies named 226 sponsoring institutions in 35 states and the District of Columbia on November 7, 2026 (our calculation). Florida had 23, second only to New York's 35 (our calculation), including HCA Florida JFK Hospital, Bethesda Hospital East and Memorial Healthcare System in the Palm Beach and Broward area.
Does diabetic foot-care education, including video, prevent ulcers and amputations?
The trials point to fewer amputations and better knowledge, but most are small and at risk of bias. A 2014 Cochrane review found 12 randomised trials of patient education to prevent diabetic foot ulcers, of which only five reported ulcer or amputation outcomes; it concluded there was not enough robust evidence that limited education alone cuts ulcers and amputations (Cochrane). A 2023 meta-analysis by James Cook University researchers found 29 randomised trials of education programs for people with or at risk of diabetes-related foot disease (Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews). Across them, education reduced the odds of any amputation (odds ratio 0.34) (Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews) and improved foot-disease knowledge in 13 of 16 trials and self-care scores in 19 of 20 (Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews). Only one of the 29 trials was rated at low risk of bias.
A 2023 meta-analysis of 11 randomised trials by Brazilian nursing researchers found that educational technologies, a group that includes educational videos alongside lectures, games, footwear and thermometers, lowered the incidence of diabetic ulcers against usual care (risk ratio 0.40), with low certainty of evidence (Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagem). The result is not specific to video.
Video-only trials are few and small. A 2026 Irish pilot trial randomised 52 patients with active, past or high-risk diabetic foot disease to education from a podiatrist or to a foot self-care animation; only the animation group showed a significant gain in knowledge from its own baseline, and the difference between groups was not significant (Journal of Diabetes Investigation). In a 2004 U.S. trial of 48 ankle-fracture surgery patients, those who watched a consent video scored 40.1% higher on a comprehension test than those told the same information verbally (Foot & Ankle International).
How well does telehealth work for diabetic foot care?
Telemedicine looks at least as good as clinic visits in the few controlled studies. A 2021 meta-analysis of four controlled studies with 816 patients found telemedicine care for diabetic foot ulcers had lower odds of amputation than face-to-face care (odds ratio 0.48), though the mortality odds ratio leaned the other way at 1.66 (The Foot). A 2020 Dutch systematic review found 61 studies of telehealth for the diabetic foot; two randomised trials of audio and video consultations showed healing similar to outpatient visits but no saving in costs (Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews).
U.S. podiatrists moved to telemedicine during the pandemic. A 2020 national survey drew 246 responses from podiatric physicians, more than 1% of those practicing; those more likely to keep offering telemedicine after COVID-19 had higher new-patient volume (Journal of Foot and Ankle Surgery). Respondents chose themselves, so the survey shows patterns, not national rates.
How good are YouTube and TikTok videos on foot and ankle conditions?
Most studies rate them low on quality and reliability, and popularity does not track accuracy. A 2019 study in the Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association (JAPMA) rated 35.6% of 87 YouTube diabetic foot care videos non-useful or misleading, with no difference in views or likes between useful and misleading ones (JAPMA). A 2015 University of Calgary study rated 49.4% of diabetes foot-care videos not useful (Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice). In a 2022 study, the first 100 English videos on diabetic foot examination averaged 101,311.9 views each (Diabetic Medicine), but only 5% were of excellent quality and 34% were poor; physicians uploaded 28% (Diabetic Medicine).
Bunion and heel-pain videos score similarly. In a 2021 study of 49 YouTube bunion surgery videos, 90% rated fair or poor on the DISCERN reliability tool (Foot and Ankle Surgery). In a 2022 study of the first 50 results for "hallux valgus", 28% came from commercial product vendors and 16% from physicians (Journal of Foot and Ankle Surgery). A 2023 JAPMA study of 140 plantar fasciitis and heel spur videos rated 67.15% very poor or poor on DISCERN (JAPMA). A second 2023 JAPMA study of the 79 most-viewed plantar fasciitis videos was kinder: it rated 30.3% high quality and concluded most reflect treatment guidelines (JAPMA). In a 2025 study, 74% of the first 50 plantar fasciitis videos were uploaded by non-physicians, and physicians' videos scored higher (Cureus).
Audiences are large. A 2025 study found the first 50 English YouTube videos for "ingrown toenail" had 71.8 million views between them (71,842,230), and 82% came from health-care professionals, yet the author rated their quality poor (JAPMA). In a 2026 study, 73 ankle sprain videos had over 20.7 million views, and physician-made ones scored highest (Journal of Sport Rehabilitation). Only 10% of the 50 most-viewed tarsal tunnel syndrome videos in a December 2024 search met all four JAMA reliability criteria, while trainers' and physical therapists' videos drew more engagement than physicians' (Journal of Foot and Ankle Research).
Short-form video fares worse. In a 2023 study of 100 TikTok videos tagged #anklesprainexercises, only 2% graded "fair" and none "good" or "excellent" (Foot & Ankle Orthopaedics); for 100 Achilles tendinopathy exercise videos in another 2023 study the figure was 1% (Foot and Ankle Surgery). A 2026 study of 244 Chinese diabetic foot short videos on TikTok (Douyin) and Bilibili found median quality scores of 2 out of 5, and engagement did not predict quality (Scientific Reports).
What foot care does Medicare refuse to pay for?
Routine foot care is excluded from Medicare Part A and Part B coverage, apart from listed exceptions, under chapter 15, section 290 of the Medicare Benefit Policy Manual as CMS published it in July 2026 (CMS). The manual names the cutting or removal of corns and calluses, the trimming, clipping or debriding of nails, and hygienic care such as soaking the feet (CMS). The regulation behind it, 42 CFR 411.15(l), lists Routine foot care of the same kinds as an excluded service (eCFR). It also excludes treatment of foot subluxations regardless of underlying pathology (eCFR).
Devices to treat flat foot, including prescribed supportive devices, are not covered (CMS). A subluxation of the ankle joint, by contrast, is covered when treated medically or surgically (CMS). Warts on the foot are covered like warts elsewhere on the body: Public Law 96-499 removed warts from the exclusion effective July 1, 1981 (CMS). The exclusion turns on the nature of the service, so an excluded service is denied whether a podiatrist, osteopath or medical doctor does it (CMS).
Medicare.gov puts the covered side in plain words: Part B pays for a podiatrist's medically necessary exams or treatment of foot injuries and diseases, naming hammer toe, bunion deformities and heel spurs (Medicare.gov).
When does routine foot care become covered, and what are the class findings?
Routine-type care can be covered when a systemic disease such as diabetes or peripheral vascular disease causes severe circulatory embarrassment or areas of reduced sensation in the legs or feet, under section 290.C of the CMS manual (CMS). For a patient who can walk, care of fungal (mycotic) toenails is covered only when the physician documents mycosis and marked limitation of ambulation, pain or secondary infection (CMS).
Contractors may presume coverage from three classes of findings. The Class A finding is a Nontraumatic amputation of the foot or part of it (CMS). Class B covers absent foot pulses and advanced trophic changes, with Three required trophic changes for that item to count (CMS). Class C covers symptoms such as claudication, cold feet, edema, paresthesias and burning. The presumption applies with one Class A finding, with Two of the Class B findings (CMS), or with One Class B and two Class C findings (CMS).
Where the condition requires active care by an M.D. or D.O., a contractor may treat the requirement as met if the patient saw that doctor during the 6-month period before the podiatrist's visit (CMS). The manual expects Relatively few claims of this kind, given how severe the qualifying conditions are (CMS).
How often does Medicare pay for a diabetic foot exam?
Medicare pays for a foot evaluation and treatment no more often than every six months for people with diabetic sensory neuropathy and loss of protective sensation (LOPS), as long as they have not seen a foot care specialist for another reason in between, under National Coverage Determination 70.2.1 (CMS). The coverage began for services on or after July 1, 2002 (CMS).
LOPS is diagnosed with the 5.07 Semmes-Weinstein monofilament (CMS). Five sites are tested on the sole of each foot (CMS), and no sensation at two or more sites out of 5 on either foot must be documented (CMS). The exam includes patient education. CMS's text calls this neuropathy the most common factor leading to amputation in people with diabetes (CMS).
A related benefit, diabetes self-management training, covers 10 hours of initial training under Part B, per section 300.1 of the manual as revised in June 2024 (CMS).
What does Medicare cover in therapeutic shoes for people with diabetes?
Each calendar year, Medicare covers either one pair of depth shoes and three pairs of inserts (CMS), or one pair of custom-molded shoes and two additional pairs of inserts (CMS), under chapter 15, section 140 of the CMS manual. The benefit has existed since May 1, 1993 (CMS). The shoes are not durable medical equipment; they form a separate category of coverage under Medicare Part B (CMS). A depth shoe must have a removable filler that adds at least 3/16 inch of depth (CMS).
Three people are involved. An M.D. or doctor of osteopathy who manages the diabetes must certify the need (CMS). A podiatrist or other qualified physician then prescribes the footwear, and a podiatrist, pedorthist, orthotist or prosthetist fits it (CMS). Medicare.gov says the patient must have diabetes and severe diabetes-related foot disease (Medicare.gov), and pays 20% of the Medicare-approved amount after the Part B deductible (Medicare.gov).
Is a podiatrist a physician under Medicare law?
Yes, for listed purposes. Section 1861(r) of the Social Security Act counts a doctor of podiatric medicine as a physician for named Medicare provisions, but only for functions the state licenses them to perform (SSA, archived October 2026). That is why state scope-of-practice law matters for what Medicare pays a podiatrist to do.
What may a Florida podiatrist treat, and how is the license earned?
Florida limits podiatric surgery on the leg to the part below the anterior tibial tubercle, under section 461.003 of the 2026 Florida Statutes (Florida Statutes). The scope includes amputating toes or parts of the foot but not the foot or leg in its entirety (Florida Statutes). The Board of Podiatric Medicine has seven members appointed by the Governor (Florida Statutes); Five members must be licensed podiatric physicians with at least 4 years in practice (Florida Statutes).
The board adopts the national board exams, Part I, Part II and Part III, as Florida's licensure exam under rule 64B18-11.002 (Florida Administrative Code). The statute caps the exam fee at $350 (Florida Statutes), and the board's fee rule, last amended in April 2025, sets a $100.00 nonrefundable application fee and a $0 exam fee (Florida Administrative Code). An applicant who fails after five attempts can no longer sit the exam (Florida Statutes). A residency may not keep a resident unlicensed for more than 3 years in total (Florida Statutes). Section 461.007 caps the renewal fee at $350 as well (Florida Statutes).
Each licensee must carry at least $100,000 in professional liability coverage, or an equal escrow or letter of credit, unless exempted, under rule 64B18-14.0072 (Florida Administrative Code). A podiatrist who closes or moves a practice must keep patient records for at least 2 years (Florida Administrative Code).
How much continuing education does a Florida podiatrist need?
A Florida podiatric physician must complete at least 40 hours of continuing education every two years to renew an active license, under rule 64B18-17.001 as amended in October 2026 (Florida Administrative Code). The statute sets the ceiling at 40 hours biennially (Florida Statutes). At least 32 hours must come from live in-person or live interactive virtual events (Florida Administrative Code), and no more than 8 hours from home study or anytime courses (Florida Administrative Code). Recorded video courses therefore cover at most a fifth of the requirement.
What do Florida's rules say about podiatry advertising, including video?
Section 461.013 of the Florida Statutes lists “False, deceptive, or misleading advertising” as grounds for discipline (Florida Statutes), and also lists “Soliciting patients” in person or through an agent outside board-approved categories (Florida Statutes). The board's rule 64B18-14.004 defines advertising as any statement, oral or written, put before the public to sell professional services (Florida Administrative Code). The rule does not single out video, but a practice video aimed at patients fits that definition.
The rule bans ads that create false or unjustified expectations of beneficial treatment or cures (Florida Administrative Code), claims about the quality of the services (Florida Administrative Code), and claims that the podiatrist's skills are superior to other podiatrists' (Florida Administrative Code). A podiatrist may advertise membership of a credentialing organization only if the board has approved it; one condition is an active membership of at least seventy-five (75) unless waived (Florida Administrative Code). Written solicitations to prospective patients must be marked "advertisement" in red ink (Florida Administrative Code).
How many podiatric physician licenses does Florida have?
Florida had 2,307 podiatric physician licenses in fiscal year 2024-25, counting every status, according to the Florida Department of Health's Division of Medical Quality Assurance annual report (Florida DOH, archived November 2025). Of those, 1,589 were active licenses held by in-state practitioners (Florida DOH). The rest include out-of-state, inactive, delinquent, military and retired licenses, so the count is of licenses, not podiatrists in practice. The department issued 85 initial podiatric physician licenses that year (Florida DOH) and held 210 podiatric resident registrations (Florida DOH).
Podiatry practice websites, associations, health news and marketing vendors repeat four numbers more than any others. We traced each one to the survey, study or company that produced it and read what it measured. Pages that repeat a number are linked only as dated evidence of how it spread, never as a source for the number itself.
“75% of Americans will have foot problems in their lifetime”
No survey we found measured a lifetime figure of 75%. The 75% that the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA), the podiatrists’ association, did publish is a 2018 share of U.S. adults who currently experience foot problems: its Spring 2018 patient newsletter says a 2018 APMA study found 75% of U.S. adults experience foot problems and 47% experience at least two (APMA Footprints, archived). The newsletter gives no sample or field dates. SalesFuel, a sales-intelligence company, describes the 2018 survey as finding as many as 75% reporting some issue with their feet (SalesFuel); APMA’s own report on it was not found.
APMA’s earlier surveys give lower or differently worded numbers. A December 2005 APMA release, reposted by a Seattle-area foot and ankle practice, said nearly half, 47 percent, of Americans will experience a foot ailment at some point in their lives, from a survey of close to 1,700 men and women aged 18 to 60 (APMA release via footankle.com). The California Podiatric Medical Board’s 2010 fact sheet footnotes the 2009 APMA Foot Ailments Survey of 1,082 adults aged 18 to 60 (Podiatric Medical Board of California). Edge Research ran APMA’s September 2010 online survey of 1000 U.S. adults, in which 50% said they experience foot pain at least some of the time (APMA, archived); a 2012 Congressional Record tribute repeated that as 50 percent (Congressional Record). APMA’s 2014 online survey of 1021 U.S. adults, fielded February 19-26, 2014 (APMA, archived), found 77% had experienced a foot ailment (APMA, archived); its May 2014 release worded this as foot pain, 77 percent (APMA via PR Newswire).
The lifetime wording runs ahead of any survey. The Maryland Podiatric Medical Association’s undated page says “it is estimated” that more than 75 percent of Americans will experience foot problems at one time or another in their lives, naming no study (Maryland Podiatric Medical Association). A 2011 WALB News story credited a “recent” APMA study with 75% over a lifetime (WALB). Practice pages carry it unsourced: Lancaster Orthopedic Group (75 percent) (Lancaster Orthopedic Group), a Lower East Side podiatry site (75 percent) (Lower East Side Foot & Ankle), and an arthritis blog that turns it into foot pain (75%) (Oh My Arthritis).
Use instead: “In APMA’s 2014 online survey of 1021 U.S. adults, 77% said they had experienced a foot ailment; APMA reported 75% experiencing foot problems in 2018.” Say “have experienced”, not “will experience in their lifetime”, and name APMA as an association survey.
“The average person walks 100,000 (or 115,000) miles in a lifetime”
The mileage is an estimate that has never been measured, and its sources disagree with each other. The oldest form we found is President Reagan’s July 1987 proclamation for National Podiatric Medicine Week, issued for APMA’s 75th anniversary: “According to medical estimates, the average person walks 115,000 miles in a lifetime,” with no estimate named (Reagan Library).
APMA’s own pages use two totals. Its “75,000 Mile Checkup” page, captured in March 2000, said most Americans log 75,000 miles on their feet by age 50 (APMA, archived), and it showed its arithmetic: an assumed average of 4.3 miles a day, times 365, times age (APMA, archived). The same daily rate gives either total depending on the lifespan assumed, so the totals differ by assumption, not by measurement. HealthDay in May 2001 credited APMA with daily steps adding up to about 115,000 miles in a lifetime, “more than four times the circumference of the globe” (HealthDay), and APMA’s 2004 walking-cities page used the same 115,000 (APMA, archived). Its current winter foot care page is back to 75,000 miles by age 50 (APMA). The 100,000 form appears in the California Podiatric Medical Board’s 2010 fact sheet, attributed to APMA as nearly 100,000 miles (Podiatric Medical Board of California); we found no APMA page with that number.
Use instead: “APMA estimates most Americans walk about 75,000 miles by age 50, based on an assumed 4.3 miles a day.” Present it as an illustration, not a statistic.
“Every 20 (or 30) seconds a limb is lost to diabetes”
The 30-second figure dates from November 2005, when the Lancet devoted an issue to the diabetic foot for World Diabetes Day. Its press release said every 30 seconds a lower limb is amputated somewhere in the world as a consequence of diabetes, citing a review in that issue (The Lancet via EurekAlert), and that the lifetime risk of a foot ulcer for a person with diabetes could be as high as 25% (The Lancet via EurekAlert). The review’s abstract (Boulton and colleagues) gives no interval; its numbers are on cost and on ulcer recurrence, greater than 50% after three years (The Lancet). The interval is a global estimate, not a count. WHO repeated 30 seconds the same week (UN News), and a 2007 review credited the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot (IWGDF) with it (30 seconds) (Acta Clinica Belgica). A 2010 paper restated it as over 2500 limbs a day and changed “lower limb” to “major limb” (Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology).
The 20-second form began as a forecast. A 2018 conference abstract said that in 2030 diabetes will cause one amputation every 20 seconds (Journal of Infection in Developing Countries). The same year USC News stated it in the present tense, 20 seconds, profiling podiatric surgeon David Armstrong (USC News), and the IWGDF’s 2023 sponsorship brochure to industry uses 20 seconds too (IWGDF). Neither cites a count.
The companion “85% of diabetic amputations are preceded by a foot ulcer” has a clean origin, and it is one hospital. Pecoraro, Reiber and Burgess traced 80 consecutive first amputations in diabetic patients at the Seattle Veterans Affairs Medical Center from 1984 to 1987 (Diabetes Care) and attributed 84% of them to ulceration (Diabetes Care). NIDDK’s Diabetes in America (1995) summed up such studies as foot ulcers preceding about 85% of nontraumatic lower-extremity amputations (NIDDK). Later abstracts pair the two numbers: a 2021 Swiss abstract gives 85 % beside the 30 seconds (Revue Médicale Suisse), and a 2023 review credits both, as 85 percent, to the American Diabetes Association (International Journal of Molecular Sciences). CDC’s own U.S. amputation counts appear in our burden section.
Use instead: “In a 1990 study of 80 diabetic amputations at one Seattle VA hospital, 84% involved a foot ulcer.” If you use the interval, call it what the Lancet called it in 2005: an estimate that a lower limb is lost every 30 seconds worldwide.
“Video on a landing page lifts conversions by 80%”
The 80% is a best case from one video vendor, EyeView, in 2009-2010, about financial and tutoring websites, not healthcare. EyeView’s blog first reported that eToro visitors who watched its video were 20% more likely to download the product (December 2008) (EyeView, archived). In February 2009 it said UMOO viewers were 80% more likely to become depositing users, comparing viewers with non-viewers for one client (EyeView, archived), and in November 2009 it quoted a TutorVista manager on a first test that lifted conversion by over 80 percent (EyeView, archived). Its 2010 white paper said only that “in some cases” the boost was over 80% (EyeView white paper, archived), and the one test it described, the eToro split test, was now almost 32 percent (EyeView white paper, archived).
The scope fell away in repeats. By August 2010 Unbounce, a landing-page software seller, wrote that video on landing pages can increase conversion by 80% (Unbounce, archived), and WordStream, a pay-per-click software seller, repeated 80% in March 2016, crediting “EyeWideDigital” (WordStream). Healthcare marketing carried it on: Nucleus Medical Media listed 80% in 2018, credited to Eyeview Digital (Nucleus Medical Media); Practice Builders, which markets medical and dental practices, wrote 80 percent in a 2018 white paper, crediting a different video producer (Practice Builders); and a July 2018 vendor-sponsored piece in Chiropractic Economics said homepage videos boost conversion by 80 percent or more, with no source (Chiropractic Economics). We found no podiatry practice test behind the figure.
The larger later evidence points the other way. Unbounce’s own 2021 analysis of about 35,000 customer landing pages in each of three periods (Unbounce) concluded that video appears to have a minimal or negative impact on landing-page performance regardless of the conversion goal (Unbounce). Use instead: do not cite a conversion lift for podiatry video; say Unbounce’s 2021 study of 35,000 pages found video had a minimal or negative effect, and judge a practice’s video by its own appointment requests.
We started from the questions people search for about podiatry video statistics and looked for the organization that actually produced each answer. Every figure on this page sits in an evidence ledger with its source, the exact table or paragraph it came from, the measurement period, the population measured, and the date we checked it. This edition holds 464 figures from 56 publishers.
On November 7, 2026, each sourced figure on this page was re-fetched with the fetch cache cleared and matched against the recorded wording: CMS’s Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners and DMEPOS files through the data.cms.gov data API, the Medicare Benefit Policy and National Coverage Determinations manuals, eCFR and Medicare.gov; BLS occupation wage estimates (through the BLS data API) and Occupational Outlook Handbook pages (through Internet Archive copies, because bls.gov refuses automated requests); the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; Census County Business Patterns, Nonemployer Statistics, the 2022 Economic Census and the Annual Integrated Economic Survey (through the Census data API); Florida Statutes, Board of Podiatric Medicine rules and the Department of Health’s annual licensing report (an Internet Archive copy after the page moved); AACPM, CPME and ABFAS pages; YouTube and Google Ads help pages; CDC diabetes pages (Internet Archive copies); peer-reviewed studies (PubMed abstracts, re-read through NCBI’s E-utilities because the abstract pages answer scripts with a bot check); and the pages behind each popular claim. Our Medicare counts come from CMS’s own files and our YouTube figures from the YouTube Data API. We left out AHRQ pages and Meta’s ad transparency pages (robots rules that bar AI agents), the American Board of Podiatric Medicine site (it answers scripts with a captcha), and the full CDC diabetes report (it renders only in a browser).
We only cite the producer: government agencies, regulators, company filings and official posts, and the survey owner's own report. We do not cite statistics roundups, Statista-style aggregators, or salary sites without a public method. We did not bypass paywalls or sign-up forms; where a full report was gated, we used only the figures its publisher states publicly.
Figures marked "our calculation" are arithmetic on the cited numbers, and anyone can reproduce them:
sum of views where in_podiatrist True and channel_class = 'podiatrist or podiatry practice' / sum of views where in_podiatrist True and on_topic = True x 100
This edition contains no Mark Studios customer data.
Limitations
Podiatrist counts differ by source. BLS counts 9,680 wage-and-salary podiatrist jobs, which leaves out practice owners; CMS lists 15,526 podiatrists who billed Medicare; Florida counts licences, not practising clinicians. We print them side by side rather than pick one.
Our Medicare figures cover fee-for-service Part B only. They leave out Medicare Advantage, and CMS hides service lines with fewer than 11 patients, so code shares are floors. County totals use each podiatrist’s listed ZIP code.
Our YouTube read follows YouTube’s ranking. The 548 videos are what YouTube’s search returned for ‘podiatrist’, ‘foot doctor’ and ‘bunion surgery’ (the top 200 results of each, sorted by views, with no country filter) on November 7, 2026. It is not a census of podiatry video, view counts are lifetime snapshots, and we sorted 229 channels by hand from their public text without checking credentials.
Study results come from specific settings. Most education trials were small and run in a few clinics, often outside the U.S.
Association figures are the profession’s own. AACPM represents the colleges and APMA the podiatrists; AACPM’s own pages disagree on fall 2026 first-year students, and we print both numbers.
How to cite this page
For a single figure, cite the original publisher named next to it, and link here if the verification trail is useful to your readers. Each figure has its own anchor, so you can link straight to it, for example https://www.markstudios.com/research/podiatry-video-statistics#DRV-210. To cite the page as a whole:
Mark Studios. "Podiatry Video Statistics." Last verified Nov 7, 2026. https://www.markstudios.com/research/podiatry-video-statistics
APA
Mark Studios. (2026, November 7). Podiatry video statistics. https://www.markstudios.com/research/podiatry-video-statistics
MLA
“Podiatry Video Statistics.” Mark Studios, 7 Nov. 2026, www.markstudios.com/research/podiatry-video-statistics.
Chicago
Mark Studios. “Podiatry Video Statistics.” Last modified November 7, 2026. https://www.markstudios.com/research/podiatry-video-statistics.
BibTeX
@misc{markstudios_podiatry_video_statistics_2026,
author = {{Mark Studios}},
title = {{Podiatry Video Statistics}},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
url = {https://www.markstudios.com/research/podiatry-video-statistics},
note = {Last verified 2026-11-07}
}
Our calculations and the evidence table are free to reuse with attribution and a link to this page. Each underlying figure remains the claim of its original publisher, and some publishers ask for a link when their figures are reused.
American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine (AACPM; association of the colleges), Residency - ExplorePodMed (AACPM) (undated). Accessed 2026-11-07.
EyeView Digital (video production and testing vendor; sold the videos it tested), EyeView - The new "Conversion" game (2008-12-04). Accessed 2026-11-07.
EyeView Digital (video production and testing vendor; sold the videos it tested), Another video conversion success story (2009-11-10). Accessed 2026-11-07.
We re-verify every figure quarterly and when a major source publishes a new edition. The next scheduled review is February 2027. Corrections go to contact@markstudios.com.
Nov 7, 2026: First published with 464 figures from 56 publishers, each checked against its original source.
Frequently asked questions
How many podiatrists are there in the U.S.?
It depends on the count. CMS lists 15,526 podiatrists who billed Medicare Part B fee-for-service in 2024. BLS counted 9,680 wage-and-salary podiatrist jobs in May 2025, a figure that leaves out self-employed practice owners.
How much do podiatrists earn?
BLS put the median annual wage of U.S. wage-and-salary podiatrists at $160,300 in May 2025, up from $126,240 in May 2019. In Florida the median was $138,340.
How many podiatrists are in Palm Beach, Broward and Martin counties?
In our count of CMS’s 2024 Medicare file, 149 podiatrists billing Medicare had a Palm Beach County address. The three counties together held 23.4% of Florida’s 1,262 Medicare-billing podiatrists.
How much does Medicare pay podiatrists?
Medicare paid podiatrists $2,550,440,858 for Part B fee-for-service services in 2024, by our sum of CMS’s file, and 281 podiatrists received $1 million or more.
Does Medicare cover shoes for people with diabetes?
Yes, for eligible patients. Within one calendar year Medicare covers no more than one pair of depth shoes and three pairs of inserts.
Who makes the most-viewed podiatry videos on YouTube?
In our read of YouTube’s most-viewed podiatrist, foot doctor and bunion surgery results on November 7, 2026, podiatrists’ own channels drew 70.6% of the on-topic views, and videos of 60 seconds or less drew 74.1%.
Is it true that a limb is lost to diabetes every 30 seconds?
The “every 30 seconds” figure comes from The Lancet’s November 2005 press release for World Diabetes Day, a global estimate, not a U.S. count.
