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I am seeking information regarding the incidence of heel pain in the population, and related data e.g. treatment outcomes, conservative v surgical, recalcitrant cases, surgical conversion rates & outcomes etc.

Are there any reliable sources, is the information extrapolated or measured?

Anyone seen such data ?

Thanks!

I do not think there is any good data...

15% of adults with foot problems (McCarthy & Gorecki, 1979)
Estimated 1 million patient visits per year are for plantar fasciitis (Riddle, 2004).
More than 2 million Americans seek treatment for plantar heel pain each year (eMedicne)
In both athletic and nonathletic populations, the rate is reported to be approximately 10% (eMedcine)

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Craig Payne
Department of Podiatry
La Trobe University
Melbourne, Australia
http://www.latrobe.edu.au/podiatry
__________________________________________________ ___________________________________
God put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things - right now I am so far behind, I will never die.
The views expressed above are those of the author and not that of La Trobe University
This is where I am, where are you?

There's some reasonable prevalence data in older people:

The Feet First study [1] of 784 Americans aged over 65 years reported that 4% exhibited tenderness to palpation of the plantar heel pad, and 7% to palpation of the arch. Our study [2] of 301 people aged over 75 years found that 16% had disabling foot pain affecting the heel.

1. Dunn JE, Link CL, Felson DT, et al. Prevalence of foot and ankle conditions in a multiethnic community sample of older adults. American Journal of Epidemiology 2004; 159:491-498.

2. Menz HB, Tiedemann A, Kwan MMS, et al. Foot pain in community-dwelling older people: an evaluation of the Manchester Foot Pain and Disability Index. Rheumatology 2006; 45:863-867.

Cheers,

Hylton

21% of participants in this study reported heel pain:


Prevalence and correlates of foot pain in a population-based study: the North West Adelaide Health Study

Catherine L Hill , Tiffany K Gill , Hylton B Menz and Anne W Taylor

Journal of Foot and Ankle Research 2008, 1:2doi:10.1186/1757-1146-1-2

Published: 28 July 2008

Abstract (provisional)

Background
Few population-based studies have examined the prevalence of foot pain in the general community. The aims of this study were therefore to determine the prevalence, correlates and impact of foot pain in a population-based sample of people aged 18 years and over living in the northwest region of Adelaide, South Australia.

Methods
The North West Adelaide Health Study is a representative longitudinal cohort study of n=4,060 people randomly selected and recruited by telephone interview. The second stage of data collection on this cohort was undertaken between mid 2004 and early 2006. In this phase, information regarding the prevalence of musculoskeletal conditions was included. Overall, n=3,206 participants returned to the clinic during the second visit, and as part of the assessment were asked to report whether they had pain, aching or stiffness on most days in either of their feet. Data were also collected on body mass index (BMI); major medical conditions; other joint symptoms and health-related quality of life (the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 [SF-36]).

Results
Overall, 17.4% (95% confidence interval 16.2 - 18.8) of participants indicated that they had foot pain, aching or stiffness in either of their feet. Females, those aged 50 years and over, classified as obese and who reported knee, hip and back pain were all significantly more likely to report foot pain. Respondents with foot pain scored lower on all domains of the SF-36 after adjustment for age, sex and BMI.

Conclusions
Foot pain affects nearly one in five of people in the community, is associated with increased age, female sex, obesity and pain in other body regions, and has a significant detrimental impact on health-related quality of life.

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