Question
My daughter is 18, she had worn orthodics on and off when she was younger.  A Year and a half ago she started having extreme pain from the knees down.  They diagnosed severe fallen arches where the tendon is not working.  They put her in orthodic - no help.  Then they put her in a foot and ankle brace made specifically for her problem, which only two places in the country make them.  This dulled the pain for a few months but now she is back to where she was with the pain.  We are told that the next step is re-routing the tendon to try to fix the arches.  In your experience will this help?  Will the pain be eliminated?  She has taken Vicodin, Tylenol 3, and when she was in the hospital for a cyst she was on morphine, and none of this has even touched the pain in her feet and legs.  How do we deal with the long term pain ?

Answer
Hi Kelly,

First, I would avoid having your daughter rely on pain medications.  Especially if they don't help.  Skip them.

As far as treatments:  I would get 2-3 opinions from podiatrists that have experience with this type of surgery. There are other options for severe flatfoot.  One is a minimally invasive procedure where an implant is placed inside the foot and stops much of the flatfoot motion.  THis in combination with an orthotic may be what she needs.

If she is having generalized pain she needs to have her spine evaluated because it may be the source and possibly see a neurologist to make sure there is not another cause.

Sincerely,

Marc Katz, DPM
Tampa, FL
Advanced Podiatry
www.thetampapodiatrist.com
www.tampacryosurgery.com

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