Question to Kay, a recent
Shockwave Patient: Did it work?
Podiatrists grade pain on a 10 point
scale with 10 being the worse. Rarely do we see a 10. Kay was a 10. She lives
and works in the relatively far away town of Palmdale, California. Because of
her extreme heel pain she was not able to work or even walk without crutches.
She gave up on a social life and her pain was so great that she rarely ventured
out of the house. She tried shoe modifications, heel pads, orthotics from her
podiatrist oral anti-inflammatory medications and even a series of cortisone
injections. Nothing was helping and she was scheduled for the traditional open
surgery. Her podiatrist was an acquaintance of mine and suggested that she give
Shockwave a try. We met in my Agoura Hills office and discussed her options.
Frankly I was skeptical that Shockwave could help such severe levels of pain.
She has an HMO and had to pay for this one out of her own pocket. Fortunately
the company I use charges only $500 maximum put of pocket for the treatment even
if insurance pays nothing toward the procedure. Well, I asked her, was her
experience worth $500? Did the treatment work?
Answer: It did for me! I
was experiencing pain in my heel with every step. I was limping, trying to
prevent any flexing in my foot that would cause any pain. After the shockwave
therapy was performed, I was in a soft cast for about 6 weeks. During that time
I was careful not to traumatize it with excessive walking, standing or exercise.
Today I can walk without pain, making sure I wear a shoe with a heel. (I feel
some discomfort the day after if I wear a flat sandal or shoe.) I experience
some minor stiffness in the heel area after getting up each morning from bed,
but it works itself out in a short period of time. I am very pleased with the
result as is my husband as he doesn't have to wait as I limp along behind him
any more. I'd recommend it to anyone with similar pain
... Kay
As a subscript, I have done the
Shockwave procedure on 16 patients, all of whom have had heel pain for at least
a year (some as long as 10 years) and at least a level of 6 (some (some, like
Kay, at a 10!). My results for the procedure are as follows.
100% complete pain relief
2
Reduction
of 7 or 8 points on the pain scale 2
Reduction of 4-8 points
8
Reduction of 2-3 points
3
Reduction of 0-1 points
1
I need to point out that the patient
with 0-1 points reduction in pain also has a stress fracture of the heel that is
causing pain. As she recovers from the stress fracture she is feeling better. We
may never know how much pain reduction is due to the Shockwave and how much to
healing her stress fracture.
