3 Steps to Healing Heel Pain with Grant Duong

ts certainly feels a long while ago since I wrote one of my first articles about heel pain. On an average week, I can safely say that 90% of clients/patients present with:
Heel pain getting out of bed
Heel pain just after standing up
Heel pain trumps ingrown toenails to the podium of most common foot conditions! Heel pain does not occur because you’re weird, unattractive or sarcastic! It is simply a wear-and-tear problem resulting from a combination of poor foot posture and “foot core”, poor daily surfaces and poor footwear. But I’m sure you knew this already as you’ve already read my Heel Pain article, right? (thanks.)

Clients would always seem overwhelmed with my questions during the initial assessment but that’s because I need an overall global picture of their lifestyle – what they do for work, for sport, family etc.. because “Health isn’t just about your disease, it’s about YOU” Heel pain is a lifestyle condition which is why I laugh and shake my head when poor patients/clients are referred for cortisone injections into the heel which absolutely kills!
NO! By simply sticking a corticosteroid injection into the plantar surface (bottom of the feet) is not the answer – it may mask the pain but one things for sure, the injection WILL HURT! Heel pain aka plantar fasciitis is a lifestyle problem. I always tell my clients the “cure” heel pain is to move away to live on a tropical island, say Fiji, where they’ll enjoy soft sand, grass, the beach and coconuts – definitely a natural anti-inflammatory!

However, the truth is most people can’t escape their lifestyles yet and must settle for a management plan or a healing program centred on correcting pain relief, poor foot posture and footwear. Definitely the best way to correct ‘foot core’ and posture is to realign the feet via orthoses and suitable footwear with the application of foot exercises and stretches. However that present heel pain needs to be dealt WITHOUT THAT UNNECESSARY CORTISONE INJECTION. We do that with Shockwave Therapy.

SHOCKWAVE THERAPY (SWT)
Recently I made a commitment to innovate my service by investing in a Shockwave machine.
SWT is the application of acoustic waves carrying high energy to painful spots and soft tissues that are affected by repetitive, acute, subchronic and chronic conditions.
The science of the therapy will provide 3 major medical effects:
* Pain Relief
* Acceleration of Healing
* Improves & Restores Mobility

And can be applied to many common musculoskeletal conditions such plantar fasciitis, runners knee, sciatica, muscle spasms and strains, tennis elbow and lower back pain. By applying extra-corporeally (outside the clients body) shockwaves are aimed at the target area and will cause dissolution of calcium deposits and improve vascularisation thereby giving pain-relief.
Advantages of SWT
* Non-evasive
* Your body does not have to burdened by medications – especially pain meds
* Can prevent surgical intervention
* Faster recovery times for workers and athletes
* Backed by research yielding positive results

Possible side effects of SWT
* Swelling in the area
* Numbness and prickliness in treated area
* Haematoma – bruising
* Can cause fluctuated heart activity
* Contra-indictions/Restrictions of SWT
* Pregnancy
* Blood disorders
* Blood thinning medications
* Growing cartilage in children
* Inapplicable to head, spinal cord, face, vital organs
* Thrombosis

SWT for Heel Pain
SWT therapy is applied to painful areas and the surrounding strained/muscle contractures and will usually require 3 – 5 sessions. The dosage of SWT will be determined by how you, the client feels at the start of the session so that I can ‘tweak’ the dosage so that is suitable for you. My last client of the day really enjoyed the session, saying that his heel and arch were not numb but tingly but it felt really light!
Are you sick of heel pain? Give me a shot at healing your heel pain. Currently, I am taking bookings in-clinic, however in a few weeks I will be promoting corporate health care where I will bring my Podiatry service to you onsite at your workplace.

Hope to see you soon
Move SMARTER not Harder!
Grant