We offer a variety of treatments in our office for heel pain. The treatment program we design for you will be based off of your needs and conditions. We offer conservative treatments to begin your program, including stretching exercises, padding of shoe gear, taping, ice therapies, heat therapies, physical therapy, and night splints. Usually a little time is needed to see if conservative treatment will help relieve your pain. If it does not, we are able to continue with other treatments of heel pain.
Orthotics or orthotic devices are shoe inserts which help return your foot to the neutral position is is intended to hold. Biomechanical, or structural, problems with your feet can lead to heel pain. A few example of these types of problems would include over pronation, in-toeing, out-toeing, and either high or low arch height. All of these can contribute to or cause your heel pain, and can lead to misalignments which cause ankle, knee, hip, or lower back pain. Orthotics support your foot and distribute your weight correctly over the foot. By returning your foot to its neutral position, orthotics can help relieve your various pains, be used in conjunction with other treatments, and can help prevent future problems with your feet. When we prescribe orthotics for a patient, we take a digital, 3-D scan of their feet. This allows us to map problem areas, determine how they bear their weight, and to create a very accurate custom molded orthotic for them. Our orthotics, unlike custom fitted orthotics which are designed to fit certain foot types, are unique for every individual, giving them the best support, comfort, and relief from heel pain.
Autologous Platelet Concentration (APC) Injections, also known as Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) Injections a new treatment for heel pain, especially from plantar fasciitis, that we are offering in our office. The APC injection follows a simple process. First, blood is drawn from the patient, then it is spun in a centrifuge to separate the red blood cells from the platelets. Platelets are your body's growth and healing factors. Once these are concentrated, they are injected into your problem area (in this case your heel). This treatment is completely safe as it utilizes your body's own healing ability by concentrating the platelets in a certain area. Recovery with APC is up to 5 times faster than with rest alone, and it is certainly faster than the recovery time needed following surgery. This treatment is excellent for preventing patients who traditionally would require surgical intervention from needing a surgical procedure. It has been utilized by high profile athletes such as Cliff Lee, Kenyon Martin, Tiger Woods, Troy Polamalu and Hines Ward and has been featured in the Health Journal of a March edition of the Wall Street Journal.
Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (ESWT) is another modern treatment we offer for heel pain. This treatment uses high-power sound waves to end chronic heel pain without surgery. The discovery of ESWT came about somewhat by accident. Shock wave therapy is used regularly by urologists to break up and disperse kidney stones. Urologists began reporting that patients who had kidney stones treated showed increased bone density and new tissue growth. This led to studies for using shock wave therapy for soft tissue injuries with amazing results: 75%-80% of patients with soft tissue injuries we reported to be healed or greatly improved following ESWT. ESWT works by purposely targeting trauma at the pain site. This stimulates diseased tissue and activates your body's own healing process. Blood and oxygen rush to the site, activating a metabolic response that fosters healing by the growth of new connective tissue. This is what is damaged and torn when you have plantar fasciitis or heel spur pain. The most important aspects of EWST are that it ends pain, the procedure in not painful, there isn't a lengthy recovery period, and there are no side effects. Click here for more information about ESWT.
If you are experiencing heel pain, call our office at 419-423-1888. You don't have to deal with pain in your heels and feet!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment