In this episode of The PODdoctors podcast, Dr. Damien Dauphinee, a board-certified foot and ankle surgeon, and Dr. Raafae Hussain, fellowship trained foot and ankle surgeon, talk about the intersection of plantar fasciitis and nerve pain in heel pain sufferers. They also discuss the differences between fasciitis, an acute inflammation, and fasciosis, a degenerative problem with scar tissue and fibrous tissue build up. Dr. Hussain and Dr. Dauphinee recommend steroid shots for space-occupying lesions like cysts and lesions, and orthotics to address foot structure problems.

Quotes:

“One of the reasons why we wanted to do this particular show was to highlight the potential for patients to have both plantar fascial pain and peripheral nerve pain at the same time. This is a subset that is more common than not. It's incumbent on us to be able to tease that out from the patient and that there is a potential surgical option for these folks if they fail the conservative stuff where we can address both at the same time.” - Dr. Damien Dauphinee [20:52]

“With tarsal tunnel syndrome, you'll have those symptoms with the tingling, burning, most commonly we associate with nerves. But you can also have that sharp pain usually in that arch or in that forefoot. But that first branch that comes off that nerve also goes to the heel, that medial calcaneal heel nerve that comes down right here and innervates that plantar fascia area.” -Dr. Raafae Hussain [05:05]

Top Takeaways:

• Treating heel pain caused by plantar fasciitis and tarsal tunnel tyndrome
• The differences between fasciitis and fasciosis
• Peripheral nerve pain treatment

What You Will Learn:

• [00:39] Intro
• [02:50] Plantar fasciitis and tarsal tunnel syndrome
• [07:11] Treatment options for tarsal tunnel syndrome and plantar fasciitis
• [15:18] Releasing fascia tissue to heal nerve compression 
• [21:18] Treatment of chronic plantar fasciitis and nerve compression

Resources:

Visit our website: https://thepoddoctors.com/

Book Mentioned: Saving Limbs, Saving Lives: Advanced Treatments for Preventing Amputations in Diabetic Populations by Dr. Damien Dauphinee