What Are the Latest Treatments for Plantar Fasciitis?

A foot injury like plantar fasciitis can become chronic and can cause a lot of restrictions, discomfort and pain. It is an injury most common among runners. When in-home conservative treatments prove ineffective, you may want to seek the latest treatments available to relieve plantar fasciitis symptoms.

Conservative Treatments

• This injury is the most common cause of heel pain. It involves the inflammation and irritation of the ligament called plantar fascia. Traditional conservative treatments include resting, elevating, massaging and icing.

Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy

• This type of treatment involves delivering focused shockwaves to the injured area. The two forms are high energy and low energy. Shockwave therapy is believed to work by initiating a healing response in your tissues to microtrauma, simulating the repair process by improved delivery of nutrients to the area affected by plantar fasciitis.

Cryosurgery

• Cryosurgery for plantar fasciitis starts by locating the exact area of your heel pain and making it the target area for the tip of the cryoprobe. Pressurized gas between the inner and outer tubes of the probe will be released to result in a rapid drop in temperature. The purpose is to preserve the basic structural components of your peripheral nerve to relieve pain.

Bipolar Radiofrequency

• This treatment is a minimally invasive procedure that applies a bipolar radiofrequency pulse to your plantar fascia to stimulate the release of hydrogen and oxygen to encourage tissue growth and heal your injury faster. Compared to other treatments, this provides earlier pain relief, reduces the possibility of wound infection and promotes faster recovery time.

Anodyne Therapy

• Anodyne therapy utilizes light therapy to relieve plantar fasciitis symptoms. It is used to treat pain and blood circulation irregularities as well as muscle stiffness and spasms. Patients are subjected to a specific wavelength of the light spectrum, which releases nitric oxide from red blood cells to improve circulation. This improves your nerve function and may heal your damaged fascia.