By Lori Lovely
Walking and physical exercise are usually good for us, but sometimes excessive or intensive workouts can lead to issues such as plantar fasciitis, a painful inflammation of the bottom of the foot between the ball of the foot and the heel.
That’s exactly what happened to Dr. Yibing Li two years ago. “I injured my feet by excessive walking and dancing exercises,” she recalls. Thanks to her overzealous attempts to keep in shape, she developed plantar fasciitis in both feet.
“I tried numerous traditional therapies including, but not limited to, physical therapy, customized shoe inserts, steroid injections, and expensive shoes,” she recounts. Nothing provided relief.
An orthopedist suggested surgery, but Li, a medical doctor board-certified in pain medicine and physical medicine rehab, says surgery was not an option due to her busy work schedule.
Instead, she tried PRP (platelet-rich plasma) injections in both feet. “After a month or two, I noticed my foot pain was getting better and better,” she observed. Today, her foot pain is totally eliminated. “I have resumed all my activities without any restrictions.”
Because her results were so dramatic, Dr. Li started treating her patients with the same condition with PRP. For the past 15 years she has treated numerous patients with acute and chronic pain, but she says this treatment has offered the best chance of permanent healing. “In my experience, PRP is the best treatment for plantar fasciitis.”
What Is Plantar Fasciitis?
The plantar fascia is a thin, web-like ligament that connects your heel to the front of your foot. It supports the arch of your foot and helps you walk. These ligaments act as shock absorbers, supporting the arch of the foot. They experience a lot of wear and tear from daily activities. Too much pressure on your feet can damage or tear the ligaments. The plantar fascia then becomes inflamed; the inflammation causes heel pain and stiffness.
Women and people who are overweight are the most likely to develop the condition. Jobs that require standing on hard surfaces for extended periods of time or a lot of walking can also contribute to the development of planter fasciitis. You’re also at risk if you walk or run for exercise, especially if you have tight calf muscles that limit how far you can flex your ankles. People with very flat feet or very high arches also are more prone to plantar fasciitis.
Left untreated, plantar fasciitis can become a chronic condition. It can contribute to the development of foot, knee, hip, and back problems because plantar fasciitis can change the way you walk, limiting your level of activity.
Treatment Options
Some of the most effective treatments for plantar fasciitis include:
- Wearing proper shoes for sports (with arch support and cushion heel)
- Night splints for Achilles stretching
- Physical therapy with stretching exercises
- Steroid injections occasionally for temporary pain relief
- PRP injections for permanent cure
How PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma) Works
The use of platelet-rich plasma has gained significant popularity in the field of sports medicine and orthopedics due to its power to enhance permanent healing of both acute and chronic ailments.
The body has a limited time period that it can dedicate to heal an injury, which is often called the “inflammation stage” of injury. After 3–6 months, the body “gives up” on the injured tissue and moves on to other areas that need help. This is called the “chronic injury stage,” when there are few, if any, cells in the injured tissue site to help with healing.
The healing process of chronic plantar fasciitis, ligament, tendon, bone, and cartilage injuries can be expedited by injecting cells that promote inflammation, raising a red flag to alert the body to take notice of the injured tissue again so it can continue to assist healing the damaged tissue.
These essential healing cells are already present in your blood. Though best known for their role in clotting blood, platelets also contain proteins called growth factors, which are important in the healing of injuries.
With PRP, blood is withdrawn and placed in a centrifuge to separate the different types of blood cells (red cells, white cells and platelets). The concentration of growth factors can be ten times after the platelet-rich blood is separated.
Your doctor then injects this platelet-rich portion of blood directly into the area of your injury. Usually a single injection is sufficient, although sometimes a series is appropriate. Because your own blood is used, there is no risk of a transmissible infection and a very low risk of allergic reaction.
After the injection, your injured region may actually ache more for a week or two while the injected cells are given time to work. Several weeks later, however, the healing benefits begin to reduce inflammation and pain by a noticeable degree.
PRP has a healing effect, an anti-inflammatory effect, and a pain-relieving effect that can be used to treat a variety of problems, from tendons to joint issues.
Research studies and clinical practice have shown PRP therapy to be very effective at relieving pain and returning patients to their normal lives more quickly than other treatments. Both ultrasound and MRI images have shown definitive tissue repair after PRP therapy, confirming the healing process. The need for surgery can also be reduced by treating injured tissues before the damage progresses and the condition becomes irreversible.
Rather than having to turn to surgery or medication to relieve pain in the neck, shoulder, arm, back, leg, or feet, people can now restore their quality of life through stem cell and platelet-rich plasma therapy.
For more information, contact Dr. Yibing Li, MD, regenerative medicine specialist and a leading PRP/stem cell therapy specialist in central Illinois, at: Center For Pain Management & Rehab (CPMR), located in Peoria. Feel free to call them at 309-689-8888. You can also visit their website at www.cpmrmed.com.
Photo credit: AMR Image/iStock, Foot diagram courtesy of CPMR