New surgery option for Plantar Fasciitis - Foot Problems Message Board

hells hamster · 08-21-2007, 02:48 PM

Found out some information on a new surgical treatment for PF. It is called Extracorporeal Shockwave Treatments. From what I understand is that they knock you out like in any operation, but there are no cuts or incisions. They put your foot up to the 'thing' and it gives you quite a whalloping on your Plantar muscle. This is why you have to be put under.

What this does is cause trama to the area of the Plantar, telling your brain that it needs a lot of attention while createing more bloodflow.

I am no doc, so sorry if this does not make a lot of sense. If you want more info, just look up 'Extracorporeral Shock Wave Treatments' and see for yourselves. This actually sounds good to me. No cuts, you only miss a couple days of work and the best part is no cast or 100lb boots with clumbsy crutches.

If anyone here has done this, PLEASE let me know how it was. Thanks again for your time. Get better all! The Hamster

Ashley52 · 09-02-2007, 06:16 AM

I had this done and it did NOT help me, at least not significantly. They didn't knock me out though. They put thousand of shocks through your foot in the space of about 20 minutes. It's not painful, just uncomfortable.

I suffered with plantar fasciitis for 3 years, trying every conservative treatment known to man. If I tell you what helped me most, you probably will not believe it. It was finding the right doctor.

I don't know if we're allowed to name names on here but I would be glad to share with any person who is interested. I know I would have traveled anywhere to get help with this problem.

Here is a list of the things I tried. First, cortisone shots....wonderful, but they only mask the pain and they wear off. You can only have so many.
Second, physical therapy....useless in my opinion. Third, stretching exercises...depends, the wrong exercises are useless, the right ones work.
Fourth, night splint...helped me a lot but I couldn't see using it forever. Fifth, orthotics....well, maybe if the doc had given me the right ones. As it stood, my new doc said they were all wrong for my feet. Sixth, anti-inflammatory drugs...useless. Seventh, lidocaine patches, useless. Eighth, acupuncture, short term relief. Ninth, shockwave therapy, very limited if any help. Tenth, Arch supports and the right shoes, unbelievably simple and the single most effective "treatment" I have had.

I realize everyone is different but until I found the right doctor, I was shooting in the dark. The guy I see now is an orthopedic sports medicine specialist who also specializes in foot and ankle care. He has credentials out the ying yang and sorry, but no podiatrist has this amount of extensive training. The podiatrist I was seeing recommended surgery with no guarantees on outcome and up to a year recovery. No thanks! I feel so blessed to have found the right doc.