Alternative Treatment – Shockwave therapy
Shock wave therapy is another non-surgical measure for the treatment of a heel spur. Shock wave therapy is already known from the treatment of kidney stones. The mechanism is that targeted shock waves are directed at a tissue area.
This passes the waves on to neighboring tissue, which is increasingly made to vibrate. As soon as the bony substance of the calcaneal spur is reached, the molecules of the bone are also set in vibration. Initially, there is no change in structure.
However, the longer this type of irradiation is carried out or the more often the treatment is repeated, the more unstable the bony structures become. If the treatment is successful, the heel spur becomes smaller and smaller and increasingly degenerates from the edge to the inside. What leads to a disintegration in kidney stones, therefore, leads to a crumbling off in heel spurs.
The treatment is relatively painless when used correctly and is also described by patients as moderately unpleasant in contrast to shock wave therapy for kidney stones. However, the painfulness depends crucially on the practitioner and the shock wave device. The more efficient focused shock waves are significantly less painful than the radical shock wave therapy.Usually several sessions are necessary before the first reactions of the tissue to the ultrasound waves become apparent.
In the meantime, the statutory insurance pays for the treatment under certain conditions. Private health insurance companies cover the treatment completely. If one decides on a treatment, the patient usually has to reckon with several hundred euros for several sessions.
Even after successful treatment with ultrasound waves, a new formation of the heel spur cannot be ruled out. The reason for this is that the usually severe incorrect loading that led to the formation of the calcaneal spur is continued and even chronic overloading of the foot is not reduced. Therefore it is very important that after a treatment corresponding incorrect postures are compensated and overloading is greatly reduced.
In any case, intensive physiotherapy should be carried out to work out exactly these weak points. Several weeks of follow-up treatment should be expected in this context. In contrast to shock wave therapy, the physiotherapeutic follow-up treatments are always covered by the statutory health insurance companies.
Physiotherapists usually prescribe 10-12 sessions, which must be strictly adhered to. Ultrasonic shock wave therapy is practically without risk and side effects. In some cases, however, tissue irritation of the foot may occur, especially if the waves are too strong.
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