Dr. Nicole G. Freels, FACFAOM, C.Ped

Dr. Nicole Freels FACPM, Certified Pedorthist

Voted "Top Women in Business" + "Top 50 under 50, Lexington", "Top Podiatrist in Lexington", "Best Podiatrist", "Podiatry Innovator of the Year", "Best Medical Facility", "Podiatry Legends", "Best Podiatry Practice"

Dr. Nicole Freels, FACFPM, C.Ped. is a Kentucky native and University of Kentucky alumnus. The granddaughter of Dr. Arthur O. Kelly, a Podiatrist in Portsmouth, Ohio.  She grew up on a horse farm in South Portsmouth, Kentucky.  Despite humble beginings and being raised as a "farm girl" tending to the garden, mucking barns and grooming horses, she spent much of her time shadowing her grandfather and learning the building blocks of podiatry which she uses to this day.  

She is the founder and CEO of Lexington Podiatry and Modern Podiatrist. Over the past 16 years she has created a world-renowned multispecialty podiatry practice that focuses on conservatively treating all conditions of the foot and ankle. She and Dr. Carter have created a one stop shop for all things Podiatry. Her approach is encompassing the basics of Podiatry, and enhancing it with modern and advanced treatment alternatives, and "out-of-the-box thinking" for those that don't have time to be off their feet due to pain.

Conservative Care

Dr. Nicole Freels, FACPM, C.Ped is double Board Certified and has been ranked the Top Podiatrist in Lexington for over 15 years by Google, Three Best Rated MD, RateMds, Healthgrades and received the Top Women in Business award by the Lane Report. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine.  Additionally, she is able to give back to the community by offering education and has been featured as an expert Podiatrist in the Wall Street Journal and Southern Living Magazine, just to name a few.

She has been named the preferred Podiatrist for Toyota Motor Manufacturing of Kentucky. She has worked extensively on-site at their facility (including educating their medical team, floor surface evaluation, personalized team member evaluation and orthotic/insert fitting, foot examinations, workers' compensation cases, etc).  TMMK members typically visit her annually to update their custom orthotics as well as get a thorough examination.  Timberland Boots asked her to be the lead doctor to collaborate and design a shoe/boot exclusively for Toyota worldwide, which is their most widely accepted design to date.

She is a Medical Advisor for PowerStep (Foundation Wellness) and is on the ground floor in developing new and innovative inserts for her patients and the masses. 

She's also been selected as the only Podiatrist to partner with Brooks Running Shoes in offering not only her expertise in shoe design, but also is tasked with educating other doctors about shoegear to share with their patients.

As an active doc, she is heavily involved with racing events in Kentucky sponsored by Race Rise and Bob Baney, as well as Fleet Feet with Amy Varney.  Offering free footcare onsite to all racers and their families, Lexington Podiatry and Dr. Freels are able to support a community that has been so welcoming.   If you're looking for someone who loves hiking, travelling, snow skiing, weight lifting, tennis and pickleball, this is the Podiatrist for you!

In 2010 she launched her custom-designed premium footcare line inspired by her late Grandfather.  "Modern Podiatrist" has been incredibly popular amongst her patients, salons, podiatry practices and spas looking for prescription strength options adding in natural ingredients. Under Dr. Freels' direction, The Marriott Spa at Griffin Gate offers a therapuetic pedicure (safe for diabetics and at risk patients) soley using her complete footcare line. There are several products in production, sign up for her newsletter for updates!  Use code "NFBIO24" for 15% off Modern Podiatrist.

In addition to advanced biomechanics (the physics of your body,...think The Matrix), her concentration is the latest advancements in Regenerative Medicine. This includes Laser Therapy, PRP, etc. All of these are considered and discussed before referring you for invasive surgery.  Her approach is to merge traditional podiatric medicine that she learned from her Grandfather with modern, advanced, cutting-edge procedures and technology.

Because many lower extremity problems stem from underlying biomechanical issues, Dr. Freels specializes in treating these issues through detailed biomechanical and gait analysis (when indicated) during your visit in hopes to prevent surgery.  It is not uncommon for patients to schedule an appointment for a biomechanical analysis to reveal the source of their back, hip and/or knee pain.

She is well known in the ommunity for having "difficult cases", and has had success in treating these patients with minimal to no invasive procedures.  Sixth opionions are a "normal day" for her.  Often pain that's been ongoing for years is what she's loves treating. 

If you feel you have no where to turn, please schedule a "Hail Mary" appointment with Dr. Freels just to make sure "NOTHING ELSE CAN BE DONE".  Again...2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and even 6th opionions are her normal.

After your complete analysis and plan has been discussed, as a Board Certified Podiatrist and Certified Pedorthist, she is able to provide you with any custom orthotics or bracing that may be required in-office, in addition to answering all your shoe concerns.  We utilize all forms of traditional and modern technology to create the perfect orthotic for you.  Unlike Good Feet, this is truly customized and not a "one-size-fits-all" mentality.

Patients with back, hip and knee pain are welcome to schedule an appointment to determine if their feet are creating these issues.  Remember: "The knee bone is connected to the hip bone", we can assure you, it's all connected.

During your consultation, you'll feel at ease as you both discuss your lifestyle, occupation, limitations, goals and all of your shoe gear needs. She works extensively with her patients to develop comprehensive treatment plans and options. Her focus is to exhaust all conservative treatments before considering surgical corrections. 

As a shoe afficianado, she'll never tell you to throw any shoes away, only to "Just be smart about it!".  Wrinkles in life happen, Lexington Podiatry and Dr. Freels is there to help you navigate your foot health through those muddy waters. In fact, she has hours of shoe videos on Lexington Podiatry's YouTube channel and a full downloadable shoeguide on our homepage here.

By the time you leave, you'll feel hopeful as you will have a comprehensive treatment plan to get you back on our feet as soon as possible!

If you're a fan of Dr. Pimple Popper or My Feet Are Killing Me, subscribe to her YouTube channel.