You’ve been to physiotherapist and podiatrists, and nothing seems to help your foot pain. You’ve tried injections and rest and it only seems to be getting worse. When you feel like you have tried everything, there is still hope for pain relief. In comes Shockwave Therapy for plantar fasciitis.
What is plantar fasciitis?
Plantar Fasciitis is an inflammation of the plantar fascia on the bottom of your foot in response to stress. My patients report it as a stabbing pain in the heel on weight bearing especially after rest, such as first thing in the morning. The second most common complaint is pain after prolonged standing or sitting.
Typically, physiotherapy treatment for the condition would be through strengthening and stretching exercises. The aim is to restore the foot’s range of movement and change how you load the tendon. Recent evidence has suggested that we are not changing or healing the tendon. We are just changing the loading of the tendon and perhaps getting the rest of the tendon to load better.
A stabbing pain in the heel is usually felt early in the morning during the first step. In some milder cases, the discomfort gradually decreases until it fades completely at some point. The pain can appear again after prolonged standing or sitting.
Shockwave Therapy for Plantar Fasciitis
While we still use the tendon theory about load management, new evidence has shown that radial extra-corporeal shockwave therapy (a.k.a. shockwave therapy/shockwave for short) can aid in the natural healing of the tissues. This results in 8 of out 10 people having improved symptoms and returning to the things they love, be it running, walking or just daily life.
At Vitalis Physiotherapy, we have adopted Shockwave Therapy due to its non-invasive method. It has strong ability to promote the formation of new blood vessel pathways. It also restores damaged tissue. Typically, our patients report improvements after 3-8 sessions from the shockwave application, depending on the severity of their condition.
The latest evidence also suggests that shockwave has been able to reduce the re-occurrence rate of plantar fasciitis down to only 8%.
We couple our shockwave therapy for plantar fasciitis with traditional plantar fasciitis physiotherapy treatment. We do a thorough examination to find out why your body is overloading your plantar fascia… and show you how to fix it for good.
VIDEO: Shockwave application to the plantar fascia.
Treatment at Vitalis Physiotherapy
Have you have been diagnosed with plantar fasciitis or have tried every treatment you could find? Or, do you think you may be experiencing symptoms associated with the condition? If so, our team at Vitalis Physiotherapy can assess your condition and determine your suitability for Shockwave Therapy treatment.
At your first appointment, we will ask you questions to find out more about your experience with the condition. After your assessment, the physiotherapist will test the movement in your foot and other areas. The aim is to determine the severity of the diagnosis. From there, we will work out a treatment plan and give you a likely prognosis and time frames for healing.
A big part of your treatment is education on your injury. We will prevent it getting worse and know what to do to help it feel better. Then, we will advise you on what is appropriate for your stage of injury.
Book an appointment
Need to see a Physiotherapist to treat your plantar fasciitis? Interested in Shockwave Therapy? Book an appointment now with one of our team by calling 0410 559 856.
For more information, please see our FAQs or contact the clinic.
References: Malliaropoulos, Crate, G., Meke, M., Korakakis, V., Nauck, T., Lohrer, H., & Padhiar, N. (2016). Success and Recurrence Rate after Radial Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy for Plantar Fasciopathy: A Retrospective Study. BioMed Research International, 2016, 9415827–9415828.
