Menopause and Plantar Heel Pain: Findings From a Series of Focus Groups Exploring Lived Experience

Plantar heel pain (PHP) is a debilitating problem disproportionately affecting women between the age of 40 and 60 at twice the rate of men, coinciding with perimenopause and menopause. Whether a causative relationship exists is uncertain, but their concurrence presents challenges for both patients and healthcare providers.

To conduct focus groups to understand people's perception of menopause and PHP. The primary objective was to identify whether people with experience of PHP and menopause or their healthcare providers, thought their PHP was related to menopausal status. The secondary objective was to find out if this population thought this was an important area of research and what the barriers may be for further investigation.

Following National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) guidance on 'co-producing a research project', 17 participants were invited via VOICE GLOBAL public engagement UK platform to take part in focus groups with 5-6 participants in each session. Participants self-identified as having experienced PHP and were either perimenopausal or postmenopausal. Each group was asked if they felt that there was an association between PHP and menopausal status; if a link between menopause and PHP was made by their healthcare provider; if research in this area was important and what the barriers may be to further investigation in this area.

Of the 17 participants, 76% did not initially perceive that there to be an association between menopause and PHP and reported that it was not mentioned in their healthcare consultations when they sought help. Some felt stigma remained around the menopause, particularly in ethnic minority communities, and that this may be a barrier to further research. Participants unanimously felt that this was an area that needed more investigation, with improved awareness on the part of healthcare providers being particularly important.

Participants felt the relationship between menopause and PHP requires further investigation, with a focus on understanding the level of awareness of association among healthcare professionals and patients. The implementation of any findings needs to consider ethnic and cultural barriers, and those that may be present in a primary care setting.