title: 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.
authors.affiliation: Southern Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Center, Chattanooga, TN 37404, USA. DickAnkle@aol.com
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Alvarez
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005208:Fasciitis / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005534:Foot Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D006365:Heel; D019220:High-Energy Shock Waves / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D059408:Pain Management; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013577:Syndrome