“I can’t believe it! I have no pain!”
Not long ago, these were the exact words I heard from a patient who suffered from a condition known as, Plantar fasciitis. It is an extremely painful, non-inflammatory degenerative condition of the foot usually considered a sports-related injury. You generally know you have it by limping due to pain in your feet for the first few steps in the morning. However, a large percentage of the non-athletic population also suffers from this condition for people who have long periods of work-related weight bearing. This pain is felt on the bottom of the foot, and in front of the heal.
The patient, whom I will call V, is in her mid-40’s, and a serious bi-athlete runner and biker. She underwent eight months of physical therapy under the supervision of orthopedists and podiatrists. Yet, their form of treatment never seemed to help V and she was not about to give up her sport, regardless of the pain involved. Then, V came to me to try a different non-surgical approach to address her physical ailment. Using the trigger point method of Acupuncture, this procedure was successful in relieving: “80% of the pain”. V continues to train hard and comes in after experiencing an occasional flare-up of plantar fasciitis.
Not only did her pain condition vastly improve, but so did her spirits and outlook.
In V’s case as in so many other similar body healing needs, people will typically consider surgery a last resort. Because of it’s high level of safety, Acupuncture should often be considered an appropriate first resort.
“I can’t believe it! I have no pain!” gives me a thrill every time I hear it.