Carrie Tollefson is an American middle distance runner who was on the US 2004 Summer Olympic team. She suffered from plantar fasciitis and used a Sonocur for her treatment back in 2003 before the Olympics. Here is an article from Running Times Magazine about her comback : http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=3764
In terms of treatment, Tollefson’s medical team left no known mode of plantar fasciitis therapy untried: iontophoresis, cortisone shots, acupuncture, active-release therapy, icing, and Sonorex shockwave treatments from Dr. Bill Roberts, which Tollefson credits more than anything else with her eventual recovery.
WGN a TV station in Chicago did a piece on ESWT and it’s effectiveness. The system used in this news piece is not a SONOCUR but you can see some testimonials and how the procedure works. The procedure for the treatment they are showing is the same as the SONOCUR treatment.
A shock for patients who suffer from heel pain. Local doctors say sonic technology can put the bounce back in your step.
Fran Smith: “Reach your right arm up …”
The poses come naturally for Fran Smith. This yoga teacher now moves freely … and free of the pain that once held her back.
Fran Smith, Heel Pain Patient: “I just started feeling pain in my heel. I felt everytime I stepped down, it was almost like I was stepping on a tack. And I just got pain shooting up my foot, all the way up.”
Fran was suffering from plantar fasciitis … painful inflammation of the fibrous band of tissue that connects the heel bone to the ball of the foot.
Dr. Gregory Amarantos, Podiatrist, Weil Foot & Ankle Institute: “What happens is repetitive trauma, the band on the bottom of the foot will stretch. With chronic stretching, the band will start to pull off of the heel bone. You get localized inflammation and you get pain.”
Here is a recent study of ESWT for treatment of Plantar Fasciitis.Very interesting follow up to the study taken 9years ago to determinethe effectivess of ESWT long term.
Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT) is a well-accepted treatment alternative, world wide, for the treatment of chronic and recalcitrant tendonopathies and plantar fasciitis. Early and mid-term study results indicate success with a variety of orthopedic disorders, including plantar fasciitis. While several short-term studies support ESWT for the treatment of plantar faciitis1,2, there are only a few mid-term studies that have evaluated the benefit of ESWT on function and pain five years post-treatment. These studies demonstrate favorable results including improved function and pain .3,4
