After standard radiation therapy, patients experience less pain from bone heel spurs

Short bursts of standard radiation therapy help relieve pain in patients with bone heel spurs, according to a study recently published in the International Journal of Radiation, Oncology, Biology, Physics.

In 66 patients with severe plantar fascilitis, investigators applied either a high dose of 6.0 Gy or a low dose of 0.6 Gy twice weekly on non-consecutive days to relieve pain. Patients were evaluated every 6 weeks until a 12-month follow-up. Approximately 80% of the standard dose patients were pain-free from the treatment, and 64% remained pain-free for the duration of follow-up.

“Severe plantar fascilitis is a chronic health issue and it can be extremely painful — many of these men and women cannot walk or stand for a long time,” Marcus Niewald, MD, PhD, study author and radiation oncologist at the Saarland University Medical Center in Homburg/Saar, Germany, stated in a release. “Radiation therapy has been used for its anti-inflammatory effect for more than 60 years. We are extremely encouraged by the results of our research because evidence of improved quality of life for patients is clearly evident with the standard dose regimen.”

Twenty-nine patients received the standard dose of radiation, while 33 patients received the low dose. Four patients were excluded after the study, according to the release. After 3 months, patients in the low dose group could be re-irradiated if their pain did not subside. Of those patients who were re-irradiated, pain relief was identical to the standard radiation group, according to the abstract.

Reference:

Niewald M, Seegenschmiedt MH, Micke O, et al. Randomized, multicenter trial on the effect of radiation therapy on plantar fascilitis (painful heer spur) comparing a standard dose with a very low dose: mature results after 12 months’ follow-up. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. Published online before print July 24, 2012. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2012.06.022.