Former home secretary Charles Clarke officially opens Cutting Edge Podiatry in Cambridge
Former home secretary and education secretary Charles Clarke was in Cambridge on Saturday (20 July) to officially open the new premises of podiatry clinic Cutting Edge Podiatry on Barnwell Road.
The new facility enhances accessibility, providing three ground-floor clinics, all with wheelchair access, and a ground-floor disabled toilet. A large free car park includes a disabled parking space right outside the clinic.
“Our previous premises in Tenison Road were in a Victorian house and not disabled-friendly – with the toilets and most of the clinic rooms upstairs,” says Cutting Edge Podiatry owner Suvanne Southgate. “Our new bespoke clinic ensures we can comfortably accommodate all our clients, whatever their mobility issues.”
As well as offering the traditional range of podiatry treatments, Cutting Edge Podiatry has brought the gold standard of biomechanical assessment out of the research lab and into everyday clinical practice to offer a data-driven approach to tackling musculoskeletal problems, including hip and knee arthritis, running injuries or lower back pain.
Founded in Cambridge by Suvanne Southgate in 2012, Cutting Edge Podiatry is a patient-centric podiatry clinic. Suvanne has been a qualified podiatrist for more than 20 years, with experience in both the NHS and private practice, and works to deliver quality treatments at affordable rates.
The Barnwell Road-based clinic has joined forces with University of Oxford spin-out Run3D to use infrared camera technology with custom-built software to create an exact computer model of an individual walking or running.
The cameras measure the position of small reflective markers on a patient’s legs 200 times a second as they walk or run on a treadmill. The personalised computer model is used to calculate joint motion in 3D – with an individual’s joint angles compared with an extensive database of uninjured controls to identify unusual gait patterns in real time. The root cause of any injury or pain can then be identified – and data-driven rehabilitation and treatment can be precisely targeted.
“Evidence shows that gait analysis and retraining are powerful and effective interventions for helping people walk without pain,” says Suvanne. “But, until now, only specialist orthopaedic hospitals and elite sports performance centres have had access to the advanced technology required to provide a personalised approach to identifying and treating musculoskeletal issues.
“With this new infrared-based technology, we can accurately measure 3D joint angles in real time in the clinic – enabling us to quantify a patient's biomechanics, recommend evidence-based treatment, monitor the outcomes of the intervention and assess progress over time. The technology can instantly quantify the impact of different footwear, for example, gait retraining or surgical intervention.”
At the opening of the new premises, Mr Clarke said: “Suvanne’s first-class, efficient and personal services give her clients healthy feet – an essential component of healthy lives.”
