About Us
Meet David Gilbert, Owner & Principal Podiatrist at LPC
My introduction to Podiatry came from my late father who was a Pharmacist and Chiropodist (now known as Podiatrist). I remember holding my breath as I’d wait for the weird puffs of smoke that’d result from him applying some tincture onto a foot, and being fascinated by his deft use of a knife on callus and warts.
My father noticed that I was good with my hands too, and when it was time to choose what to do once school finished, he encouraged me to follow in his footsteps. It’s now over thirty years later and I’ve never regretted following that advice. My brother says it’s because I’m pedantic – not always a positive trait but it’s exactly what you want in a podiatrist. I suspect there’s some truth to that, though I prefer to think of it as attention to detail.
In July 1990, I opened Lockleys Podiatry Clinic as a family clinic. I still have patients I saw right back from those days. There’s a real a sense of privilege that comes from caring for a family through several generations, and helping them at different stages of life – injuries, dealing with circulation problems, diabetes, stability and mobility issues. A very personal connection is made and I’ve never taken it for granted.
I enjoy the challenge of solving or managing foot pain and helping people recover from injury – an interest I fostered immediately after graduating from Podiatry at the former SA Institute of Technology, now University of South Australia (1983). I spent the early years of my career working in a sports podiatry clinic and in a family podiatry practice. From these and other sporting arenas, I learned a lot about how to deal with foot-related injuries and ingrown toenails.
As it turns out, I also learned a lot about foot pain and injuries the hard way. I like to run. I’ve done a swag of running events (10km, half marathons, marathons and even a 56km ultramarathon) and now my thing is triathlons, with a Half Iron Man being my big achievement of recent years. Along the way, I’ve had to deal with Achilles tendonitis, Bursitis, Neuroma, Plantarfasciitis, Ankle sprains, Plantaris tendon tear, Anterior Cruciate (ACL) injury, Bone bleed of the knee, Iliotbial Band (ITB) pain syndrome. That is, I’ve personally experienced many of the injuries I deal with professionally on a daily basis, but I’m still able to run and compete because I understand how to manage my feet, fitness and well-being.
My attention for detail has served me well. I’ve become known for the quality of my orthotics and the care I take in making sure they’re absolutely spot-on for my patients’ needs. These days, I use the latest technology to scan feet and manufacture orthoses, but my thirty years of experience making them from scratch in my own lab (and that pedantic streak) is incredibly helpful in ensuring my patients get the right outcomes.
It’s fair to acknowledge that it’s not always about what we can do here. On occasion the right decision is to outsource to a different health professional, for example if surgery is needed, or if someone should get x-rays to check for cracks or stress fractures in their bones. If that’s the case for one of our patients, we’ll say so and help connect them with the specialist expertise they need.
Long story short – if you have foot pain, I feel confident there’s a good chance I can help you and I would love the opportunity to do so.
Do you need Orthotics?
The experience, training and care of a professional podiatrist matters. It’s totally different to an over-the-counter transaction.
In the hope for a quick solution, some people with sore feet settle for over-the-counter shoe inserts, not realising they might not need orthotics at all, or that the inserts they buy might not help improve their feet and they might actually be risking further harm. It makes no sense to pay a sales person your money with no health insurance rebate when you can get expert advice and treatment from a professional podiatrist for a comparatively modest fee.
As highly experienced podiatrists, our focus is 100% upon providing the right care and finding the right solution for you, not on making a quick sale. There’s a world of difference between being someone’s customer and being their patient. You’ll never be treated as a customer here. You’re our patient and we take our duty of care seriously.
Okay, so, IF you need orthotics, here’s what happens.
We combine over thirty years of experience with the latest technology to get you quality orthotics that are tailored to best meet your needs.
A five laser beam scanner is used to create a high definition digital foot scan, which is sent electronically as data to a laboratory along with podiatrist David Gilbert’s personalised prescription notes, detailing what is required.
- Orthotic laboratories will not accept a prescription from anyone but a registered podiatrist.
- If a different podiatrist has taken your scan and sent it to an orthotic laboratory, we are not allowed access to that scan. We must re-scan. While this might seem inconvenient, it does bring the benefit of ensuring the scan is done to our exacting standards.
A milling machine produces an orthotic from polypropylene with the required correction, much the same as a lens is created for your eyes when you get glasses.
- We use high quality TGA-approved materials that are certified safe for human contact.
- Our materials are usually European-sourced as they are of better quality than those made in China.
Lockleys Podiatry has an onsite orthotic laboratory for adjustments and refurbishment of existing orthoses.
- David makes all adjustments and final modifications onsite, using his decades of first-hand experience in making orthotics.
- There is a two week turn around for new orthotics, one week for refurbishments.
- Any orthotic from any source can be assessed and reworked if it is suitable.
Some corrections can be built directly into a specific pair of shoes, though usually we create a removable device so that the same device can be used in multiple pairs of shoes. We may be able to modify your footwear, though this will be determined by your individual needs and the qualities of the shoe itself.
