Plantar fasciopathy and orthotripsy: the effect of prior cortisone injection.

Abstract

Corticoid steroid injection into the heel is a popular treatment method for painful heel syndromes. However, the positive results usually are short term. Extracorporeal shock wave treatment (ESW) has been shown to have a more permanent effect. We evaluated 555 patients who received ESW using the device Ossa Tron Orthotripsy (Health Tronics, Surgical Services, Marietta, GA) relative to antecedent cortisone heel injection. Before ESW, 312 patients (56%) received one or more cortisone injections into the heel, and 243 patients (44%) had never received a cortisone injection. Two hundred and thirty-four patients (75%) who had antecedent injection or injections had positive outcomes after ESW. One hundred sixty-eight patients (69%) without prior heel injection had positive responses after ESW. The prior injection of cortisone did not affect the likelihood of a positive response to ESW. Similarly, the absence of prior injection of cortisone did not affect the outcome.