New medical treatment is shocking patients and their pain
A 70-year-old woman says she "feels years younger" after undergoing a revolutionary course of medical treatment that is becoming more widely available in the UK and has been proven to be an effective alternative to invasive surgery.
Mrs Jean Dickie from Ayr in Scotland had suffered for three years with excruciating pain caused by Plantar Fasciitis (pain in the underside of the heel) and had almost given up hope of being able to find a cure.
However, she was referred to a Consultant Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Surgeon in Glasgow and was offered a course of Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT).
ESWT is a relatively new treatment and has been proven to be an effective alternative to invasive surgery. It is becoming an increasingly popular treatment form and is currently available at 100 locations in the UK, 20% of which are NHS hospitals.
The cost of putting a patient through an ESWT treatment course is considerably less than the cost of invasive surgery. Out of 80% of orthopaedic outpatient appointments, only 20% require surgery. Surgeons prefer not to operate on patients such as Mrs Dickie because the outcomes from surgery for plantar fasciitis often do not prove too successful. ESWT has the potential to save healthcare providers considerably because patients like Mrs Dickie will not require any further treatment from a GP or hospital.
ESWT is particularly effective when treating a range of chronic soft tissue injuries that are commonly found in patients' feet, elbows, shoulders and hips and can cause debilitating pain.
Having completed a course of three, 10-minute ESWT treatment sessions, Mrs Dickie was rendered totally pain free within a month and is enjoying her retirement again.
She said: "I endured three years of terrible pain with my heel - it was absolutely awful. The pain was so bad that I was often in tears. But this shockwave therapy treatment has taken away all of the pain and I feel years younger."
"It's a wonderful result because your mobility is so important when you get older. If you have any pain and discomfort it can knock your confidence and general appetite for life. But this treatment has had a really positive impact on me and I'm so thankful."
Patients can access Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy treatment services in both the NHS and private settings. To locate a clinic, patients should speak to their doctor or visit spectrumtechnologyuk.com and click on the 'find a clinician' tab.
Mr Pal Ramesh, one of the UK's top Orthopaedic specialists, runs an ESWT clinic at the NHS New Malden Diagnostic Clinic. He said: "Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy is just as effective as traditional surgery but it has lots of other benefits. The treatment only takes minutes to perform, it doesn't involve anaesthetic, the patient isn't put in plaster and doesn't face a long rehabilitation that can mean six months off work."
During the ESWT treatment process, low-energy shockwaves are passed through the skin to initiate an inflammatory response in the injured tissue. This prompts the body to respond naturally by increasing blood circulation, the number of blood vessels and therefore metabolism in the injured tissue. This accelerates the body's natural healing response by increasing cell generation and dissolving calcium deposits.
"It has always been very difficult to treat some chronic conditions because we haven't had a truly effective solution apart from invasive surgery," Mr Ramesh added. "But Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy is successfully filling that void and it's great that this treatment is becoming more readily available."
