Preliminary results on the safety and efficacy of the OssaTron for treatment of plantar fasciitis.

Abstract

The OssaTron may be another alternative for management of plantar fasciitis (heel pain syndrome) after failure of non-operative management and prior to surgical management. This study evaluated primarily the safety and early preliminary efficacy of the OssaTron in treatment of patients with plantar fasciitis unresponsive to non-operative management. Twenty heels of 20 patients were treated with 1000 extracorporeal shockwaves from the OssaTron to the affected heel after administration of a heel block. The patients were followed for one year. Each patient was evaluated by roentgenogram, KinCom, range of motion and physical examination, including evaluation of point tenderness by means of a palpometer and according to a 10-cm visual analog scale. The control was the contralateral heel. Patients also performed self evaluation by means of patient activities of daily living questionnaire and pain reported by a 10-cm visual analog scale. There were no complications or adverse effects attributed to the procedure of orthotripsy. Of the 20 patients treated, 18 were improved or pain-free. Eighteen of the 20 subjects treated stated that they would undergo the procedure again instead of surgery. Based on these results, we concluded that orthotripsy is a safe and effective method of treating heel pain syndrome that has been unresponsive to nonoperative management.