Untreated foot pain is a major health risk
One in five Australians suffer from foot pain and a disproportionate number of men between 20-34 years suffer from untreated discomfort.
Study co-author, Associate Professor Hylton Menz, says while the findings are surprising, a perception that podiatry is only for older people could be responsible for the large number of young to middle-aged Australians who are unaware of or unable to access podiatry services.
Triathlete Chris Wigell, who recently won gold at the Short Course World Triathlon Championships, attributes his latest success to his podiatrist, Michael Nitschke, who successfully diagnosed and treated his stress fractures.
“If it weren’t for Michael I would have quit the sport 18 months ago,” said Mr Wigell. “I had to have three months off for the healing process and I was depressed because three months is a lot of time to not be training, especially in an endurance sport.”
The study suggested that the lack of publicly funded podiatry services for people without chronic diseases may also explain the very low levels (as low as 4 to 10%) of podiatry consultation in younger people.
“I had no idea what a podiatrist did,” says Wigell whose mother suggested podiatry. “I thought they cut toenails for older people; my uncle who has one does that for him.”
Associate Professor Menz says foot pain can reflect medical problems that may have serious health consequences.
Acting President of the Australian Podiatry Association - Tasmania , Maree Graham says podiatrists perform a broad range of clinical services that are currently not eligible for a Medicare rebate.
Graham has called for a national campaign to raise awareness about podiatry services within communities and among general practitioners.
“Podiatrists are tertiary qualified front line health professionals trained to deal with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of medical and surgical conditions of the feet and lower limbs,” she says.
Graham says podiatry plays an important role in the maintenance of foot health and should not be ignored.
“The complex mechanics of feet and the wide range of foot problems demand professional expertise to correctly assess and manage the causes of foot pain.”
Chris Wigell’s Podiatry Experience
When Chris Wigell won the Short Course World Triathlon Championships last month, the first person he thanked was his podiatrist, Adelaide
based Michael Nitschke.
Chris’s debilitating foot pain, which was subsequently diagnosed as stress fractures, had appeared 18 months earlier - just before the National Cross Country
Championships.
“I thought it was shin splints and I wasn’t too concerned, so I competed through the pain. The fact that the soreness had got gradually worse didn’t have any medical
meaning to me. I just thought it was related to the training.
“But after the meet my feet were throbbing, it was horrifically painful, I almost couldn’t walk.”
“It was my mother who suggested I see a podiatrist. I was about to go to a GP; when you get pain you just immediately assume that you need to see a doctor. I had no
idea what a podiatrist did. I thought they cut toenails for older people. My uncle who has one does that for him.”
“Ironically my podiatrist [Michael Nitschke] sent me to a GP to get a referral for an Xray and other tests.”
“After the diagnosis Michael told me I had to have three months off for the healing process. I was depressed because three months is a lot of time to not be training,
especially in an endurance sport. It almost cost me an entire year.”
“If it weren’t for Michael I would have quit. He knew objectively how long it would take to get better and he reassured me that it wasn’t the end of the world. He helped me
stay on in the sport and encouraged me to learn patience and to see the treatment through.”
“He created a cycling regime that was less weight bearing and changed my running technique through gait retraining and used podiatric services such of kinetic orthoses
to offload the injurious forces.”
“I’ve had other foot pain problems since but Michael’s able to fix them very quickly; he identifies the little things so that we can prevent big things from happening.”
“My real life goal now is to be a professional athlete; start racing in the under 23s and then I’ll go on to elite which is the top of the food chain.”
About the study:
- The study, Predictors of podiatry utilisation in Australia: the North West Adelaide Health Study, explored patterns of podiatry utilisation in a population-based sample of people aged 18 years and over living in the northwest region of Adelaide, South Australia.
- Foot problems are highly prevalent in the community; however no large population- based studies have examined the characteristics of those who do and do not access podiatry services in Australia.
- Data were also collected on education, income and major medical conditions.
- Overall, 9.5% of the total sample and 17.7% of those who reported foot pain
had attended a podiatrist in the past year.
- Participants who had accessed podiatry treatment were more likely to be
female, be aged over 45 years, be obese, and have major chronic medical
conditions (osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and
high blood pressure).
- Those who reported foot pain but had not accessed a podiatrist were more
likely to be male and be aged 20 to 34 years.
- Only a small proportion of people who report foot pain have accessed podiatry services in the past year. There is a need to further promote podiatry services to the general community, particularly to men and younger people.
