Office-based ESWT for treatment of foot pain

Dr. Ed Davis announced that he is now offering office-based extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) for the treatment of foot pain, particularly heel pain caused by plantar fasciitis (plantar fash-e-i-tis).

Commonly referred to as heel spurs, plantar fasciitis is a painful and often debilitating condition that afflicts more than 2.5 million people in the United States each year. Although everyone is at risk, plantar fasciitis is most commonly found in athletes, runners, overweight individuals, or those who are required to stand on hard surfaces for prolonged periods of time. Dr. Davis reports that plantar fasciitis is the most common athletic injury he sees in his busy practice. Although conservative treatment will remedy the problem in 90 to 95% of the cases, prior to ESWT, surgery was the only available alternative for chronic sufferers. Surgery is highly invasive, numerous complications can arise, including infection, and has a success rate of only 50% compared with 70% to 80% for ESWT. The recovery time from surgery can be as long as 6 to 8 weeks whereas for ESWT the patient can return to normal activity the following day.

ESWT or Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy is based on breakthrough technology that has been effectively treating urinary stones for more than 20 years. This noninvasive, outpatient procedure often requires only 3-15 minute sessions. The procedure is performed in the office and requires no anesthesia or medication. Dr. Ed Davis uses the latest technology in ESWT, the Swiss Dolorclast, which is approved by the FDA. The Swiss Dolorclast sends acoustic "shock" waves through the heel and jumpstarts the healing process by regenerating blood vessels in the injured area as well as providing an analgesic effect. The Swiss Dolorclast enables caregivers to pinpoint the precise treatment area without guesswork.

"Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy is a safe and effective alternative to the traditional treatment methods available for plantar fasciitis," said Dr. Davis. "By offering this treatment I am able to help patients get back to their active lifestyles and significantly reduce healthcare costs for employers as employees are able to return to work within days rather than weeks or months." Dr. Davis has treated patients utilizing ESWT since 2003 with surprisingly good results. He is excited to be able to make the change from the older ESWT technologies to the third generation Swiss Dolorclast.

Dr. Davis performs the treatment in his office, thus saving the costly expense of a surgical center or hospital. Insurance coverage for this treatment is limited, but the cost of ESWT is now one tenth of what it was when ESWT was first introduced in the US in about 2002.