Doctors Are Clueless About Plantar Fasciitis Pain?
This veterinarian thinks so!
This animal is clearly in pain. Where is the pain? In her abdomen? Limbs? Head?
Plantar fasciitis pain, an interesting enigma!
“…veterinarians receive five times more education for pain than physicians.” Mary E. Lynch, MD FRCP, President, Canadian Pain Society
When it comes to plantar fasciitis, one man’s meat is another man’s poison!
Plantar fasciitis pain has been both caused and cured by running, shoe inserts, and pregnancy.
I think vets know more about pain than most human doctors, for two reasons.
(1) Because we receive more training in the identification and treatment of pain.
(2) More importantly, because vets actually look at their patients.
Don’t get me wrong, there are some great doctors out there, and some have saved my life. However!
You can’t ask a cow or a dog whether they are in pain. Or request that they grade their pain on a scale of 1 to 10.
You just look at the animal, listen, even smell, and the symptoms are obvious. This is based on observation of lots of animals. This skill improves with years spent in clinical veterinary practice.
Click image for link to interactive map. When there are this many treatments, people don’t know what is going on.
I’ve been to (and left) doctors who didn’t look me in the eye, once! One had his head stuck to a tape recorder. Looked around the room, writing down my answers to a series of rote questions. I nearly developed a frozen shoulder as a result. I wisely moved on, and found an excellent shoulder surgeon. He actually advised against surgery, in spite of the severity of the damage. This man’s assessment was based on my level of fitness (Ironman training). Gleaned from listening to me, and actually looking at my old, but strong and limber body (I was a young man, in my sixties, at the time – those were the days!).
I found the right guy – this is rare, especially when it comes to so-called plantar fasciitis!
Plantar fasciitis is all about pain. Often plantar fasciitis pain is in the heel. Which is why the preferred treatment of many physicians is to inject cortisone into the area of pain. The heel. This didn’t fix my knee years ago, anymore than I recommend it for plantar fasciitis. Such injections come with risks of infection. Furthermore, clinical research has shown that if there is any benefit, it only lasts for about four weeks.
Many doctors still have a tendency to think that pain is where the problem is.
Vets aren’t fooled by this, because they look, listen, and smell. They have no choice.
FitOldDog’s advice – if you have plantar fasciitis. Don’t let your doctor inject your heel.
Become a plantar fasciitis detective. Find the underlying cause, and fix it wisely.
Wishing you happy feet.
PS
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