Flat Feet
Robert Filice, M.D. Former staff physician

Recently I saw a 58 year old woman for follow up consultation in regards to her natural hormone replacement therapy. She had started coming in about 6 months ago. She told me that she had "flat feet" and that she had quite a bit of pain, primarily across the tops of both feet and at the inner side of the arch, for many years. Flat feet or fallen arches, as the condition is also known, occurs because ligament weakness allows the arch to collapse during normal ambulation, or even at rest. Many cases of flat feet, or pes planus as physicians refer to it, will be associated with plantar fascia pain in the sole of the foot. In this particular case, my patient had pain primarily at the top of the foot. This too was caused by mechanical stressors acting on ligaments and tendons because of the collapsed arches.

My examination confirmed these dynamics, and I indicated that I thought she would do well with Prolotherapy. Normally in such cases the structures supporting the inner arch and plantar fascia are treated along with any other localized areas of pain. She received her first treatment on that initial consultation date, came back in a month for a second treatment, and was already 50% better after just one Prolotherapy. During that second office visit I noticed that she had some swelling on the outside of the right ankle. She told me she had that swelling for many years, ever since her ankle had been fractured. Interestingly, she really did not have pain in the ankle...just the swelling. Normally we think of prolo as being primarily a treatment for pain. However since the swelling had occurred as a result of ligaments being damaged when the fracture occurred (a common scenario) I suggested that Prolotherapy to that area stood a good chance of helping her clear that up as well. So I treated her foot the second time and the ankle for the first time. She did not come back until today, about 3 months after that treatment. Her report? 100% relief of her bilateral foot pain, and "from that very first Prolotherapy treatment to my ankle, it has never been swollen again".

I don't want my readers to misunderstand. Many patients have ankle swelling, and there are many causes of that problem which would NOT be appropriately treated with prolo. But where the swelling has occurred in association with disruption or injury to ligaments, Prolotherapy can bring outstanding results. Remember that chronic musculoskeletal pain is  treatable, and should be evaluated by a competent Prolotherapy doctor. Don't even think about just "living with it"!