From Early Plantar Fasciitis Symptoms to Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy: Honest Reviews

Hello. I'm an office worker who suffered from plantar fasciitis for about a month. What I thought was simple foot pain gradually began to affect my daily life, so I went to the hospital. It started with the initial symptoms of plantar fasciitis and ultimately led to extracorporeal shock wave therapy. I'll share my experience in detail.

 

The initial symptoms of plantar fasciitis include a sharp pain when you first wake up in the morning and take your first step.

I had heel pain when I sat down or stood up, and after walking or standing for long periods of time, I felt a burning sensation in the soles of my feet. And the biggest early symptom of plantar fasciitis was that even when I wore sneakers, they felt like they lacked cushioning.

 

I ignored it for about two weeks, but it got worse and I started limping when I walked, so I went to the hospital.

 

I went to an orthopedic clinic and got an X-ray, and was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis. I was given advice on physical therapy, taking anti-inflammatory painkillers (only when symptoms were severe), stretching (such as massaging the soles of my feet), and wearing functional insoles to alleviate and treat the early symptoms of plantar fasciitis, and I have tried to consistently follow these steps.

 

After about 3 weeks of treatment, there was about a 50% improvement, but the initial symptoms and pain of plantar fasciitis did not completely disappear, so I decided to proceed with extracorporeal shock wave therapy at the doctor's recommendation.

 

Extracorporeal shock wave therapy is a treatment that uses a special machine at the hospital to send shock waves to the heel. The treatment time is about 5 minutes, and the pain varies from person to person, but it feels like being hit repeatedly with a rubber hammer, and it really is like that. The first treatment was bearable, but it was a little sore after the 2nd or 3rd treatment.

 

My feet felt more sore for 1-2 days, but thankfully it gradually got better after that.

After 3 treatments, the pain was reduced by 70-80%, so now the initial symptoms and pain of plantar fasciitis when I take my first steps in the morning are almost gone.

I was so happy that after that, I was able to manage the pain just by stretching.

 

Early symptoms of plantar fasciitis can be improved with stretching and physical therapy alone, but for those with severe symptoms, a little extracorporeal shock wave therapy can be helpful. However, if the initial symptoms of plantar fasciitis persist despite multiple treatments, even extracorporeal shock wave therapy won't help, so you should definitely seek other options. Also, if you have early symptoms of plantar fasciitis, maintaining a good arch in your foot is crucial.

If it persists for more than a month like mine, don't hesitate to seek medical advice.