Dear
Doctor;
Ankle & Foot Center has now been treating patients
with extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) since April
2003. After extensive investigation, our group decided
to utilize the Dornier Epos Ultra, which is one of two
shockwave therapy machines that have been FDA approved
for the treatment of plantar fasciitis. In our opinion,
the advantages of the Dornier machine are clear in terms
of superior technology. With the ability to obtain real
time ultrasound imaging during the course of treatment
for appropriate placement, the treatment can be done
under simple local anesthetic in our office.
The utilization of shockwave therapy is reserved for
patients who have had plantar fasciitis for more than
six months and have failed at multiple conservative
treatments. Where indicated these would include stretching,
icing, shoe gear modification, padding, orthotics, taping,
NSAID therapy, corticosteroid injection, night splinting
and rest. Multi-center randomized placebo controlled
prospective double masked clinical studies of patients
with plantar fasciitis with at least moderate pain of
at least six months and a history of prior conservative
therapy were involved in the clinical study for FDA
approval. In three months, 61.6% of patients that received
the real treatment had good to excellent results compared
to only 39.7% of the placebo patients. The most common
adverse events were pain during treatment and pain three
to five days post treatment. No long term side effects
were noted in the studies reviewed. Since these trials
have been completed, the world literature has supported
the positive findings. Some additional recent studies
performed in the United States as well as an extensive
bibliography have been included below for educational
purposes. Please feel free to contact any of us should
you have any further questions concerning extracorporeal
shockwave therapy. Relevant clinical information will
be continually posted at this site as it becomes available.
Thank you very much for your confidence in our services.
We strive to continue to provide the highest quality
foot and ankle care to your patients.
Sincerely,
Howard J. Bonenberger, DPM
Please read the documents below to learn more about
ESWT or the Dornier Epos Ultra shockwave emitter.
Some of the forms on this page are in PDF Format.
They can be viewed using the Free Adobe Acrobat which
you can download here.
|
