Abstract
BackgroundThis study aimed to investigate the efficacy of intralesional pulsed radiofrequency (RF) in the treatment of calcaneal spur and the results of patients who underwent single and double sessions of RF treatment.MethodsThe population of this retrospective study consisted of 460 patients who were diagnosed with calcaneal spur with clinical examination and direct radiography. The Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale and The American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) Ankle-Hindfoot Score were used to determine the pain status and functional capacities of the patients. Posttreatment evaluation was carried out on average in the 6th week.ResultsThe study involved 460 patients, 76.9% of whom were female, with the average age of 50.8 ± 10.9 years in total. Of the patients 43% was given RF therapy in a single session, and 57% of them in double sessions. After the RF procedure, the number of patients whose pain decreased according to both AOFAS and Wong-Baker pain scoring systems increased statistically significantly (p < 0.001). There was a statistically significant increase in the AOFAS-pain scores and the total AOFAS scores and a significant decrease in the Wong Baker-pain scale after treatment. However, there was no significant change in treatment success with respect to the number of RF sessions. Although not statistically significant, the differences in the AOFAS-pain scores and in the total AOFAS scores were found to be higher in patients who underwent single session RF, while the difference in the Wong Baker-pain ranking was higher in patients who received double sessions RF.ConclusionIntralesional pulsed RF procedure can be preferred as a relatively less invasive method that does not have any serious complications in patients with persistent calcaneal spurs who do not respond to the use of oral anti-inflammatory drugs and shoe insoles, nor corticosteroid injection to the lesion area.
Highlights
This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of intralesional pulsed radiofrequency (RF) in the treatment of calcaneal spur and the results of patients who underwent single and double sessions of RF treatment
Heel spurs are treated by conventional therapies such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, shoe insoles, corticosteroid injection to the lesion area, orthoses, exercises, and night splints, and by innovative treatment methods such as radiotherapy, extracorporeal shock waves, and percutaneous and/or intralesional radiofrequency application, which have been preferred in recent years, especially in persistent and recurrent cases, whereas calcaneal spur excision is often regarded as the last option [3, 4, 10]
This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of intralesional pulsed RF in the treatment of calcaneal spur by evaluating the results we obtained in a large series of patients
Summary
This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of intralesional pulsed radiofrequency (RF) in the treatment of calcaneal spur and the results of patients who underwent single and double sessions of RF treatment. Heel spurs are treated by conventional therapies such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, shoe insoles (shoe pads), corticosteroid injection to the lesion area, orthoses, exercises, and night splints, and by innovative treatment methods such as radiotherapy, extracorporeal shock waves, and percutaneous and/or intralesional radiofrequency application, which have been preferred in recent years, especially in persistent and recurrent cases, whereas calcaneal spur excision is often regarded as the last option [3, 4, 10]. There are studies showing that radiofrequency is successfully used in the treatment of numerous pain conditions such as radicular pain, trigeminal neuralgia, complex regional pain syndrome, sacroiliac joint pain, facet arthropathy, shoulder pain, chronic postsurgical pain, and myofascial pain apart from calcaneal spur [11, 12]
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