In my practice, I see patients almost every day with medical conditions or injuries that have been misdiagnosed. This can often make the condition worse or lead to expensive surgeries. Below, I’ve compiled a list of the 5 most commonly misdiagnosed injuries based on my experience. Be aware of them so you can avoid prolonged and unnecessary pain.
1. Rotator Cuff Injury
Was your shoulder pain diagnosed as strain or bursitis? Actually, you’ve likely injured one or more of the four muscles that make up your rotator cuff. Unfortunately, this condition will not improve on its own. In fact, it will get worse if you do nothing about it.
Tip: For pain relief from a rotator cuff injury, I suggest using ice, anti-inflammatories, or some form of muscle stimulation, like the TENS Unit that can be found here. But, you’ll need to determine which muscle was injured and use specific exercise to rehabilitate it in order to fully recover. This process is discussed in my book, Get Lean with Dr. Dean which is coming soon.
2. Flat Feet
Do you often experience foot pain? Flat footedness can cause your foot to roll inward as you walk, called pronation. Most of us will suffer from this with age. While pronation can cause foot problems like plantar fasciitis and heel spurs, it can also lead to more serious complications. As the foot is the foundation of the body, a fault there can manifest in other areas. I often encounter patients that were previously diagnosed with a leg or hip injury only to discover that the root cause of the pain was flat feet.
The Wolf Orthotic was designed from the ground up to provide patients with a flat foot the optimal arch support, complete pain relief, and protection from pronation.
3. Disc Injuries
Neck and back pain is often blamed on muscle spasms, but it usually stems from spinal disc injury. Chiropractic care realigns the spine, decreasing pressure on discs. In certain situations, a brace is used to reduce range of motion and relieve pressure on the disc, while a TENS unit can help reduce night pain. Nutritional supplementation can aid in the repair of diseased tissue.
Tip: I prefer supplementing Glucosamine Sulfate to help support these injured structures. Additionally, the anti-inflammatory effects of turmeric and ginger can offer pain relief.
4. Knee Pain
Knee pain is often caused by the displacement of your knee cap by a muscle imbalance. I’ve seen this diagnosed as arthritis, strain or tendonitis. When in fact, strengthening your inner quad muscle might be the best remedy for this injury and getting back on track.
Tip: Amazingly, strength training is all it really takes to significantly reduce the pain from a knee injury but I suggest using a simple knee strap that will elevate pressure on the kneecap until your muscles get stronger.
5. Elbow Tendonosis
You read right: tendonosis NOT tendinitis. You’ve probably never heard of that because nagging elbow pain is often diagnosed as tendinitis when it is actually tendonosis. Tendinitis is an inflammation of the tendon and requires rest whereas tendonosis actually gets worse with rest and must be treated. In this case, a misdiagnosis could result in more pain and worsening symptoms, making the distinction all the more important.
Tip: Fortunately, treating elbow tendonosis requires only a few simple exercises and, in some cases, an elbow brace. The same strategies can be applied to all other types of tendonosis as well.