FOOT PAIN RESEARCH © JCM Ltd

ACUPUNCTURE EASES HEEL PAIN
Acupuncture at Daling P-7 has been found to provide specific relief from the pain of plantar fasciitis. Hong Kong researchers randomly assigned 53 patients to a treatment group that received needling at Daling P-7 (said to have a specific effect on heel pain) or to a control group that received needling at the general analgesic point Hegu L.I.-4. Treatment was administered five times a week for two weeks, with identical manual needling applied to both points. Significant reductions in pain scores favouring the treatment group were seen at one month for morning pain (22.6 versus 12.0), overall pain (20.3 versus 9.5) and pressure pain threshold (145.5 versus 15.5). (Acupuncture Treatment for Plantar Fasciitis: A Randomized Controlled Trial with Six Months Follow-up. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2009 Nov 23. [Epub ahead of print]).

ACUPUNCTURE & PLANTAR FASCIITIS
Researchers from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center have confirmed that acupuncture is an effective treatment for plantar fasciitis, one of the most common causes of heel pain. 11 patients who had suffered from plantar fasciitis for at least two months were referred for treatment after conventional methods had failed. Treatment was given to the affected foot once weekly, for a maximum of six treatments. Point selection consisted of Yongquan KID-1, Taixi KID-3, Zhaohai KID-6, Kunlun BL-60, Zhiyin BL-67, Zuqiaoyin GB-44 and local ahshi and trigger points. Yongquan KID-1, a trigger point near the insertion of the plantar fascia to the calcaneus and two ahshi points in the medial arch were connected to an electroacupuncture device and stimulated for 20-30 minutes. After treatment, 9 patients reported improvement of more than 50% (and complete resolution in two cases) [Medical Acupuncture 2001; 13(1):47-49].

ACUPUNCTURE AND FOOT PAIN
A study on 67 patients with medically unresponsive foot pain (despite treatment by such methods as orthotics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication, analgesics, physical therapy, exercise, local injections of steroids and analgesics and surgery) showed that acupuncture provided complete relief of symptoms in 31 cases and better than 75% relief in 19. The points found to be most effective were Taibai SP-3, Sanyinjiao SP-6, Kunlun BL-60, Shugu BL-65 and Taichong LIV-3. The authors from the Departments of Podiatry and Pediatrics at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Richmond, California, suggest that acupuncture should be considered as a first line treatment for foot pain of over 3 months duration and that surgery for foot pain should not undertaken without a prior trial of acupuncture (Acupuncture in Medicine, Vol X1V, No2, November 1996).