Foot, heel and arch pain are extremely common yet there is much misinformation about these conditions often leading to a misdiagnosis, resulting in incorrect or inappropriate treatment.
Star Weekly spoke to one of Australia’s leading foot, knee and leg pain experts and Musculoskeletal Podiatrists Dr Paul Dowie from Foot and Leg Pain Clinics, who provided some insight.
“All foot and leg pain needs to be diagnosed and managed correctly by determining the contributing factors, not by simply addressing the symptoms,” Dr Dowie explained.
“Even your local GP, orthotist or general podiatrist may not be the best practitioner to diagnose and treat foot and leg pain and injury, as their scope of practice tends to be more generalized and not specific to lower limb musculoskeletal medicine.
“It’s really important to seek advice from an expert in this field for best results in healing foot and leg pain and injury.”
With over 25 years’ experience, Dr Dowie explains that ’Plantar Fasciitis’ is one of the most common misdiagnosed foot complaints. One common reason for misdiagnosis is when tissue thickening evident on diagnostic scans is misinterpreted as inflammation.
In such cases anti-inflammatory treatments and cortisone are often incorrectly prescribed, which can result in worsening this condition.
“Most foot and heel pain occurs when the plantar fascia (connective tissues running along the bottom of the foot) becomes overloaded, resulting in degeneration of the tissues and/or irritation of the nerves. These conditions are NOT inflammatory in nature, so should not be treated as such and this is where misdiagnosis often initiates. Most foot, heel and arch pain is a result of faulty foot function or lower limb biomechanics and environmental factors, and that is what needs to be treated – not inflammation,” he explained.
“Degenerative and inflammatory conditions require very different treatment, so they must be diagnosed and treated correctly to achieve long-term healing.”
If you’d like expert advice about any foot, knee or leg pain, you can book an appointment with Dr Dowie at his Foot and Leg Pain Clinic in Williamstown. Call 1300 328 300.
