Pain, though, is subjective. The success of podiatry in the last century has been based on our ability to deal with this pain. The podiatric patient usually discovers that he or she can limp into your office in pain and walk out feeling significantly better. Today the challenge of keeping your patient pain-free has increased. With the advent of podiatric surgery, you must now deal with both your patient's chief complaint, as well as the pain which results from foot surgery.
Most podiatrists rely heavily on anesthetics and analgesics to deal with pain.
Pain Threshold Patients differ in their ability to cope with pain. Sally Morton reports that her nail surgery was virtually painless, but her neighbor Joan Thomas tells you that the identical procedure performed on her was the most painful experience in her life. You used the same anesthetic, the same technique, and the same postoperative analgesia. The answer is a complex one, but is perhaps best approached from a psychological viewpoint. Many factors determine the patient's reaction to pain, including upbringing, prior experiences with pain, and the expectation of pain.