Shockwave Therapy for Plantar Fasciitis

Shockwave Therapy for Plantar Fasciitis

What is Plantar Fasciitis?

A thick fan-shaped band of connective tissue called the plantar fascia connects your heel to your toes and maintains the arch of your foot, giving you balance.

Sometimes, this tissue can become strained through lots of walking and high-impact sports or being overweight and obese, leading to a sharp stabbing pain around the heel area.

Most times, people with plantar fasciitis will feel the pain in the morning when they take their first steps. As the day progresses, this pain tends to subside, but it does not always mean the plantar fasciitis has gone away; it only means that the day's activities have reduced the pain.

Effectively treating plantar fasciitis is crucial to ensure it does not worsen and cause reduced mobility later in life. Even so, treating plantar fasciitis isn't always a straightforward affair.

Why Is It So Hard to Treat Plantar Fasciitis with Other Treatment Methods?

One of the biggest challenges of treating plantar fasciitis is that the area of the foot affected has little blood supply. Since blood supply is crucial to deliver nutrients and other healing factors, the plantar fascia area tends to heal slowly due to low blood supply.

Traditional treatment methods like RICE (rest, ice, compress, elevate), steroid injections, and anti-inflammatory drugs only deal with the symptoms, while invasive surgery comes with possible complications.

Until now, there has been no effective way to heal (not just treat) plantar fasciitis.

Fortunately, there is a new and highly effective way of healing plantar fasciitis that does not come with any of the other treatment's downsides: shockwave therapy.

Heal Plantar Fasciitis with Shockwave Therapy

Shockwave therapy for plantar fasciitis is a non-invasive FDA-approved treatment therapy that can heal plantar fasciitis within a short time.

It's a highly advanced treatment therapy that utilizes pressurized air (ESWT) or electromagnetic impulses (FSWT) to stimulate the healing process in the affected area, effectively encouraging the body to repair and heal itself.

Here's how it works:

During your shockwave therapy session, the foot specialist will locate the pain area in your foot through a physical examination and mark them with a pen.

Next, they will use a device to deliver the shockwaves to the affected area. Usually, the device will indicate the level of pressure or impulses plus the number of waves to deliver.

Once the wave counter has finished counting down, your therapy session is over, and you can put on your shoes and go about your normal daily activities with zero downtime.

What Results Can You Expect?

The 'shocks' delivered to your foot trigger your body's natural healing process in the affected area, causing the formation of new blood vessels and an increase in oxygen and nutrient supply to the site.

In most cases, a handful of sessions will deliver significant relief from plantar fasciitis pain. If the pain persists, your podiatrist might recommend additional sessions.

In successful cases, shockwave treatment for plantar fasciitis results in long-term healing and pain relief without any side effects. Speak to your podiatrist today to find out if you might be a candidate for shockwave therapy for plantar fasciitis.