Researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) and Harvard Medical School conducted a study where they looked for a link between foot discomfort and lower extremity joint pain, and ended up discovering one between foot pain and knee or hip pain. You can read the full article here: Foot pain? New study says look at hip and knee for complete diagnosis
The information used on this study came from a database of 2,181 people who had participated in the NIH-funded Framingham Foot Study between 2002 and 2008. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire evaluating foot pain, pain location (including side of pain) and severity, in addition to reporting if they had experienced pain, aching or stiffness in the hip or knee and specified the side of any reported pain.
Overall, 16% of participants reported bilateral foot pain, 6% right foot pain only and 5% left foot pain only, and more women reported foot pain, when comparing to men. In both men and women, researchers discovered that foot pain was linked to bilateral and same-side knee discomfort: men were 5 to 7 times more likely to have pain in their right knee or in both knees.
In women, bilateral foot discomfort was linked to hip pain on both sides, the same side, or the opposite side and, in men, foot discomfort was also linked to hip pain on the same side. A thesis that could justify these results, looks at the way the body modifies its movements and postures when it is experiencing pain.
Dr. Positano explains: “The foot is the first part of the body that makes contact with the ground. Its primary function is a shock absorber. If the shock-absorbing capability of the foot is somehow altered or minimized, it’s going to affect other body parts”.
According to the findings, a physician evaluating a patient for foot pain should also check about possible hip or knee discomfort, and vice versa, so that all of the patient’s concerns can be addressed.
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