i am skeptical of any damage being permanent. some things are hard to overcome, like amputations and such, but still not impossible.
there are some very bad things people have been conned into doing. i think we are just seeing the obvious. truth be known, even shodding feet is still new enough to be an experiment, especially modern shoes. they do a lot of damage. i am sure the list is enormous and that many of the things that hurt us are in our air and thus in everything. it is going to get much worse.