Plantar Fasciitis
Low Dose Radiotherapy
What is Plantar Fasciitis and how is it diagnosed?
The diagnosis of Plantar Fasciitis is made with a combination of history, risk factors, and physical exam. Patients with Plantar Fasciitis characteristically have heel pain and tightness after standing up in the morning that improves with walking. Palpation of a part of the heel may cause a stabbing pain.
Medication not working? Try Low Dose Radiotherapy.
Non-Invasive
Painless
Benefits of Low Dose Radiotherapy
Low dose radiotherapy (LDRT) uses low energy x-rays to treat only the painful heel. There are no needles or incisions. It is just like getting common chest or limb x-ray.
Just like a common x-ray, there is no pain with low dose radiotherapy. You will not know when the x-ray is on or off. There will be no sensation at all.
Quick
Setup for each treatment is about 5 to 10 minutes. The actual treatment only takes seconds. You will be in and out of the department in under 15 minutes for each treatment. A total of 6 treatments given once per day will be delivered.
No Medications or Drugs
Low dose radiotherapy does not require any additional medications to work. In fact, the goal of low dose radiotherapy is to allow patients to reduce or stop pain medication!
Long Duration
Academic plantar fasciitis studies have found that the duration of pain improvement with low dose radiation therapy to be greater than 12 months.
Effective Pain Reduction and Mobility Improvement
The response rate for low dose radiotherapy (LDRT) for plantar fasciitis has been shown to be as high as 81% in some analyses. Low dose radiotherapy works through a local anti-inflammatory effect on the heel tissue within the x-ray beam. With a reduction in pain, most patients will experience improved mobility and quality of life.
Time-Tested
The anti-inflammatory effects of low dose radiation therapy have been known for over 60 years. Publications of radiation being used to treat various foot diseases including plantar fasciitis have been around since at least the 1960’s.
Covered by Most Insurance Plans
Give us a call and we will be able to tell you if this treatment is covered by your specific insurance plan.
If you’d like more information or academic references, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page or give us a call!