Foot health is an important but often overlooked aspect of overall wellness that can substantially affect mobility and quality of life. This edition of FP Essentials provides information about a variety of foot conditions in adults, emphasizing the role that family physicians play in the prevention and management of these conditions, and providing us with information needed to guide patients through the complexities of foot health management.

Section One addresses diabetic foot ulcers, which affect more than 30% of the 37 million people in the United States with diabetes during their lifetimes. Neuropathic loss of sensation and other complications of diabetes increase vulnerability to foot ulceration and infection. These patients need periodic standardized foot evaluations. Family physicians should perform these crucial examinations and initiate early interventions, such as offloading, that help avoid severe outcomes.

Section Two covers foot infections such as tinea pedis, plantar warts, and pitted keratolysis. Recognizing these infections is vital to prevent deeper tissue involvement. By understanding their varied presentations across different skin tones, we can effectively treat these conditions and, when necessary, expedite referrals for unresolved cases.

Section Three focuses on foot deformities such as hallux valgus, hammer toe, and pes planus. These deformities affect mobility and cause discomfort, and they benefit from timely diagnosis and tailored management strategies, which range from orthotics to surgical interventions.

In Section Four, foot pain and overuse disorders are addressed. Conditions such as Achilles tendinopathy, Morton neuroma, and plantar fasciitis arise from both intrinsic and extrinsic factors, necessitating a thorough clinical assessment. Treatment is primarily conservative, followed by procedural and surgical options when needed.

I hope you find this edition of FP Essentials helpful for your practice. When you have finished studying it and are ready to submit your answers to the test questions, please use the comment section to tell us what was most useful and what we can do to improve. We also look forward to hearing your ideas for topics you would like us to cover in future editions.

Please also let us know your thoughts about the roles of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the work we do as family physicians. Our policy at FP Essentials is that authors (and editors) who use this technology must disclose their use of AI, the type of AI used, and how they used it. I used the University of Michigan GPT AI tool to create the first draft of this foreword. It did a pretty good job summarizing the content of the monograph, but the tone and style did not sound like me at all, so I made lots of changes.

Karl T. Rew, MD, Associate Medical Editor
Clinical Associate Professor, Departments of Family Medicine and Urology
University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor