The first professional office for the practice of podiatric medicine was opened on Winter Street in Boston in 1837, by Dr. Nehemiah Kennison, laying the foundation for the chartering of the state Society. MPMS has 300 member podiatrists. The objectives of the MPMS are to promote the art and science of podiatric medicine and surgery, in addition to the betterment of public health. As defined by state law, the practice of podiatric medicine and surgery shall mean the diagnosis and treatment of the structures of the human foot by medical, mechanical, manipulative, surgical and electrical means.
Podiatrists are foot specialists.
For over one hundred and fifty years, the role of the podiatrist as a health care provider has been intertwined with the desires of the Legislature for the maintenance and improvement of quality health care for the citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Society also helped to organize Congressional support for our national health goals in 1912. It is interesting to note that since the first running of the BAA Boston Marathon in 1897, till the present, podiatrists of the Commonwealth have always been available at the marathon to treat injured participants, commencing with Dr. Joseph Lelyveld. Additionally, it is known that President Abraham Lincoln suffered from significant foot problems and had his own personal podiatrist, Dr. Isacharia Zacharie. The value of podiatric medicine was further enhanced during World War II as the Navy commissioned its first podiatrists.