You step out of bed and your feet scream in pain! You waddle (or maybe even crawl) across the room until the pain starts to subside.
Your are active, you try to keep walking even through the pain, but the pain just gets worse.
After several minutes, the pain starts to improve only to return again if you sitdown, laydown or even by the end of the day no matter what.
Does this sound familiar? For many people this is a daily occurrence and is usually diagnosed as "Plantar Fasciitis".
Many people ask if this will resolve without treatment and often try to resolve it with some simple treatments at home like ice, stretching, arch supports or even changing shoes (goodbye flip flops).
When the pain doesn't improve (sometimes it does), they start to look for other options to overcome this limiting problem.
There are many treatment options.
Common treatment options include orthotics, night splints, cortisone shots, casting, boots or even limiting activities.
As a sports physician, I am constantly looking for options to help individuals continue activities and still resolve the pain.
Let me discuss some revolutionary treatment options for this painful condition: 1.
Cold Laser --> This treatment option is painless and utilizes a type of Ultraviolet light (or low level photon energy) to penetrate in areas of pain to stimulate increased cellular metabolism in the areas of maximal pain.
It will therefore produce increased cell migration to area and increased circulation to ultimately reduce swelling, reduce pain and produce healing of a painful plantar fascia.
The advantage of this treatment includes complete absence of pain during treatment and FDA approved safety.
The biggest disadvantage is the need for multiple treatments (8-12) with 2-3 treatments required per week to get best results.
It has been shown, however, to be quite beneficial.
2.
APC (Autologus Platelet Concentrate) or Platelet Rich Plasma injection --> Another relatively new treatment that concentrates the cells most beneficial in healing as taken from the patient and reintroduce these cells percutaneously into the inflammed plantar fascia.
The idea is to stimulate healing through injection (the simple act of inserting a needle can stimulate healing) and further stimulate healing through use of healing cells injected into the desired site.
Advantages include improvement and resolution of symptoms often after a single injection, often much more effective than cortisone injections.
The big disadvantage includes pain with drawing of the blood and injection.
Care must be utilized to minimize infection.
3.
Topaz Radiocoblation --> The newest treatment, a minimally invasive surgery called the mini-plantar fasciotomy, consists of the percutaneous insertion of a radiofrequency probe into the plantar fascia.
The probe is locally inserted at varying depths through the percutaneous grid to treat the most painful areas of the heel (and plantar fascia).
The insertion produces three results: 1) Mini tears in the plantar fascia to allow lengthening and reduce the retrograde pull from normal walking.
2) Stimulate neoangiogenesis (new blood vessel formation) to reduce swelling and allow migration of necessary cells and mediators for healing the plantar fascia.
3) Growth factor migration to the area to stimulate collagen fiber regrowth and complete healing of the inflammed plantar fascia.
Advantages of this treatment include the usual resolution of pain longterm from solving the problem, not just treating the symptoms.
The surgery is usually quick (often less than 20 minutes) and allows reeturn to regular shoegear within days of the treatment.
One disadvantage of this procedure is the possible fact that the surgery may require 2-4 weeks for complete recovery.
Now with these state-of-the-art treatments, we often recommend combinations to produce the highest results.
Most recently, we have combined the Topaz Radiocoblation with Platlet Rich Plasma (PRP) to utilize the advantages of each and produce the highest results.
So as you hobble to the bathroom at night or in the early morning, consider some new treatments that may get you back to normal quickly.
Your are active, you try to keep walking even through the pain, but the pain just gets worse.
After several minutes, the pain starts to improve only to return again if you sitdown, laydown or even by the end of the day no matter what.
Does this sound familiar? For many people this is a daily occurrence and is usually diagnosed as "Plantar Fasciitis".
Many people ask if this will resolve without treatment and often try to resolve it with some simple treatments at home like ice, stretching, arch supports or even changing shoes (goodbye flip flops).
When the pain doesn't improve (sometimes it does), they start to look for other options to overcome this limiting problem.
There are many treatment options.
Common treatment options include orthotics, night splints, cortisone shots, casting, boots or even limiting activities.
As a sports physician, I am constantly looking for options to help individuals continue activities and still resolve the pain.
Let me discuss some revolutionary treatment options for this painful condition: 1.
Cold Laser --> This treatment option is painless and utilizes a type of Ultraviolet light (or low level photon energy) to penetrate in areas of pain to stimulate increased cellular metabolism in the areas of maximal pain.
It will therefore produce increased cell migration to area and increased circulation to ultimately reduce swelling, reduce pain and produce healing of a painful plantar fascia.
The advantage of this treatment includes complete absence of pain during treatment and FDA approved safety.
The biggest disadvantage is the need for multiple treatments (8-12) with 2-3 treatments required per week to get best results.
It has been shown, however, to be quite beneficial.
2.
APC (Autologus Platelet Concentrate) or Platelet Rich Plasma injection --> Another relatively new treatment that concentrates the cells most beneficial in healing as taken from the patient and reintroduce these cells percutaneously into the inflammed plantar fascia.
The idea is to stimulate healing through injection (the simple act of inserting a needle can stimulate healing) and further stimulate healing through use of healing cells injected into the desired site.
Advantages include improvement and resolution of symptoms often after a single injection, often much more effective than cortisone injections.
The big disadvantage includes pain with drawing of the blood and injection.
Care must be utilized to minimize infection.
3.
Topaz Radiocoblation --> The newest treatment, a minimally invasive surgery called the mini-plantar fasciotomy, consists of the percutaneous insertion of a radiofrequency probe into the plantar fascia.
The probe is locally inserted at varying depths through the percutaneous grid to treat the most painful areas of the heel (and plantar fascia).
The insertion produces three results: 1) Mini tears in the plantar fascia to allow lengthening and reduce the retrograde pull from normal walking.
2) Stimulate neoangiogenesis (new blood vessel formation) to reduce swelling and allow migration of necessary cells and mediators for healing the plantar fascia.
3) Growth factor migration to the area to stimulate collagen fiber regrowth and complete healing of the inflammed plantar fascia.
Advantages of this treatment include the usual resolution of pain longterm from solving the problem, not just treating the symptoms.
The surgery is usually quick (often less than 20 minutes) and allows reeturn to regular shoegear within days of the treatment.
One disadvantage of this procedure is the possible fact that the surgery may require 2-4 weeks for complete recovery.
Now with these state-of-the-art treatments, we often recommend combinations to produce the highest results.
Most recently, we have combined the Topaz Radiocoblation with Platlet Rich Plasma (PRP) to utilize the advantages of each and produce the highest results.
So as you hobble to the bathroom at night or in the early morning, consider some new treatments that may get you back to normal quickly.
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