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| Treatment of Plantar Fasciitis With Acupuncture & Microcurrent | ||
| The protocol described in this article utilizes a combination of acupuncture
needling, microcurrent and color light treatment in conjunction with therapeutic
exercise. It is a good example of a multi-faceted approach to a hard-to-treat pain
issue. Plantar Fasciitis is a painful condition of the foot that is hard to treat because all the body weight is on the feet, preventing rest and healing. Conventional medical treatment involves rest, NSAIDS, ice and physical therapy, and the prognosis is usually improvement after about 2 months of therapy. The condition often tends to recur in susceptible people. Relief can be obtained more quickly and with better long-term resolution using a combination of microcurrents and acupuncture. The patient should notice pain relief after the first treatment, although it may be temporary. A course of 3 to 10 treatments, preferably 2 X per week, will likely provide good carry-over of relief. In my opinion, it is important to think of this as a lower body condition, not just a foot condition. When the Qi is coursing freely through the legs it is unlikely that this condition would develop. |
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| Acupuncture | ||
| Needling points around the heel and proximal points on the Kidney and Urinary Bladder meridians. Plum-blossom needling can relieve pain – try tapping along the pathways of affected meridians. | ||
| Microcurrent probe therapies | ||
| I suggest using these techniques in sequence: Circling the Dragon – use biphasic polarity microcurrent to surround painful zone by searching and treating sets of acu-points. If available on the device, add antiinflammatory colors of therapeutic light such as Purple or Blue to boost results. Color light therapy is likely to improve the results of acupuncture or microcurrent alone. Polarized Probes – There are several very useful local-distal acu-point placements: |
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| Auricular micro-macro – Using polarized probes, try placing the + probe on the painful foot areas, and the – probe (using small wetted auricular probe tip) on the corresponding Heel point of the ear on the same side of the body. | ||
| Microcurrent-enhanced exercise | ||
| After doing the above techniques, surround the foot with microcurrent pad electrodes, preferably interferential 4-pad placement. While the current is being applied, have the patient do these exercises: | ||
| #1: Patient leans forward against a wall with one knee straight and heel on the
ground. The other knee is bent. The heel cord and foot arch stretch while the
patient is leaning. Hold for 10 seconds, relax and straighten up. Repeat 20 times for
each sore heel. #2: Lean forward onto a countertop, spreading feet apart with one foot in front of the other. Flex knees and squat down, keeping heels on the ground as long as possible. The heel cords and foot arches will stretch as the heels come up in the stretch. Hold for 10 seconds, relax and straighten up. Repeat 20 times. This is a prime example of the power of stretching and mobilization with simultaneous microcurrent. This form of combination therapy can be applied anywhere on the body that rehabilitation and neuro-muscular healing is needed, and will greatly accelerate the process. |
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| Darren Starwynn can be reached for question or comment at
dstarwynn@eastwestmed.com A body of his writings are available at www.east-westseminars.com |
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