Injection Therapy

Injection therapy: Injection therapy is an option normally reserved for the most chronic or long-term cases of heel pain but some heel conditions respond better than others to injection therapy. There are a range of injections available including cortisone, blood injections (PRP) for enhanced tissue healing, local anaesthetics, glucose, saline or a combination. Generally, this is not the first treatment option and traditionally seen as treating the symptoms and not the underlying cause, injections can be very useful when used as part of the treatment plan particularly when the body isn’t responding as quickly as we would like.

PRP Injection (Plasma Rich Platelet): An injection therapy designed to increase growth factors to facilitate and accelerate healing for musculoskeletal injuries. These growth factors are derived from platelets that contain hundreds of protein crucial for the promotion of healing. The exact mechanism of action is still not 100% known but this therapy can be used for pain relief in joint osteoarthritis, ligament sprains/tears and specific heel pain injuries including plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendinopathy. More and more research is coming out regarding PRP therapy but the good news is that it is completely low risk and you can have multiple injections without the risks of cortisone given it is your own blood!

To prepare PRP injection, blood is withdrawn from the patient and processed through centrifugation to separate the blood cells and increase the concentration of platelets. Once this process is complete, the rich platelet content is then injected directly to the injured area. The injected site can initially have a little pain and can take a week or so for the beneficial effect to be seen but when used correctly it can have good effect.