Identification of patterns of foot and ankle pain in the community: Cross‐sectional findings from the clinical assessment study of the foot

Abstract

Objectives To investigate patterns of foot and ankle pain locations and symptoms, socio‐demographic and comorbid characteristics to examine whether there are distinct foot and ankle pain phenotypes. Methods Adults aged ≥50 years registered with four general practices in North Staffordshire were mailed a Health Survey questionnaire. Participants reporting foot pain in the last month indicated foot pain location on a foot manikin. Foot and ankle pain patterns were investigated by latent class analysis. Associations between the classes with foot pain symptoms, socio‐demographic and comorbid characteristics were assessed. Results Four thousand four hundred fifty‐five participants with complete foot pain and manikin data were included in this analysis (mean age 65 years [SD 9.8], 49% male). Of those with foot and ankle pain (n = 1356), 90% had pain in more than one region. Six distinct classes of foot and ankle pain were identified: no pain (71%), bilateral forefoot/midfoot pain (4%), bilateral hindfoot pain (5%), left forefoot/midfoot pain (8%), right forefoot/midfoot pain (5%) and bilateral widespread foot and ankle pain (6%). People with bilateral widespread foot and ankle pain were more likely to be female, obese, depressed, anxious, have/had a manual occupation, have comorbidities, lower SF‐12 scores and greater foot‐specific disability. Age did not differ between classes. Conclusions Six distinct classes of foot and ankle pain locations were identified, and those with bilateral widespread foot and ankle pain had distinct characteristics. Further investigation of these individuals is required to determine if they have poorer outcomes over time and whether they would benefit from earlier identification and treatment.

The Impacts of Anxiety and Depression on Outcomes in Foot and Ankle Surgery

“…Patients who had foot or ankle pain localized in a specific area showed no statistically significant differences in anxiety or depression than patients without foot or ankle pain. 11 Only 20% of foot and ankle patients fell into the widespread, bilateral foot pain category so the association between pain and depression or anxiety did not apply for a large majority of patients. These results call into question whether depression and anxiety are associated with foot and ankle pain or if the association only holds in specific contexts.…”

The Correlation of Frequency of Work-Related Disorders with Type of Work among Polish Employees

“…In our study, we also observed an increase in the incidence of ankle pain among active and manual workers. Chean et al in a 2021 survey found that over 4455 participants came to similar conclusions [ 43 ]. However, they explained the phenomenon of widespread foot and ankle pain as a symptom often associated with the subjects’ systemic conditions (e.g., polyosteoarthritis).…”

Clinical and radiographic assessment of peripheral joints in controlled acromegaly

“…lower educational attainment, and (a history of) physically demanding occupation (e.g. frequent stair climbing, professional dance) appear to contribute more to the risk of MTP1 clinical or radiographic OA in the general population, and primary OA [54,[75][76][77], and we therefore assume that the combination of biomechanical factors, including acromegaly-related physical changes (e.g. feet enlargement, joint misalignment), contribute most to the development of MTP1 OA in acromegaly.…”