Forums >Health and Nutrition>MLS laser for plantar fasciitis
Has anyone had success with MLS laser for PF? I'm on month 5 of this nasty injury and have tried just about everything (except PRP, prolotherapy, ESWT) and just found a provider that uses this laser near my home. I did have 2 treatments with another doc a few months ago, but the assistant didn't know what she was doing and the laser wasn't 'working'. I (like so many others with PF) am desperate to get back to running my beloved trails
Pam
Half Fanatic #846
... have tried just about everything (except PRP, prolotherapy, ESWT) and just found a provider that uses this laser...
If you've tried nearly everything and are desperate (like I was), have you tried minimal shoes and/or barefoot running for a while? That's what worked for me. Sorry, I don't know anything about the laser - Good luck!
"I don't always roll a joint, but when I do, it's usually my ankle" - unk. "Frankly autocorrect, I'm getting a bit tired of your shirt". I ran half my last race on my left foot!
The laser treats inflammation. Unfortunately the plantar fascia can have other things wrong with it other than inflammation that cause the pain. Google plantar fasciosis. Often it is scar tissue. I've struggled with PF too. Manual therapy, graston and rest (and, yeah, I did better with light weight neutral trainers) are what helped. 6-8 weeks of PT and various anit-inflammatory things did nothing. 2 weeks of Active Release Technique (ART) and graston with a chiropractor got me running again.
i have a partial plantar tear, diagnosed by ultrasound. did improve somewhat w/cortisone injection, boot for a few wks, cold laser x 6 sessions. fascia thickness reduced down by 1/3. I suspect there was an element of inflammation since it did respond to anti-inflammatory modalities. sadly, the injury occurred after switching out of supportive shoes (which I've worn for years with NO major injuries) and switched into a much more minimal shoe for 3 months prior to the injury and doing some long trail runs (20,23 milers) in them. I could shoot myself for jumping on the minimal bandwagon, but that's water under the bridge. MLS is class IV laser,designed to accelerate cell tissue repair, vascular activity, reduce fibrous tissue formation, so a bit more than just anti-inflammatory action. Ortho docs were some of the first to use it in Detroit. which gives it a bit more credibility in my book. And it's not crazy expensive. I've had 2 treatments so far; slightly less pain, but I've gone through short periods where the pain was minimal, then out of the blue it becomes horrendous again. Trying to stay hopeful.
this injury is evil.
EGH3,
I did Graston/ART a month after the injury. It unfortunately didn't help much at all, which was so frustrating. I've had Graston/ART on shin splints and other issues in the past with fabulous results. If the laser doesn't do much, i'll probably try it again.
how many days/week did you do ART/Graston? I will probably try that again. It has been a challenge to find someone in my area that does it, but I think I have found someone.
I found a chiropractor spcializing in sports injuries. I went twice a week. I also think it just takes time. Especially a tear. I wish you luck. It's not a fun injury and can be frustratingly slow to heal.
Hi sue,
thanks for sharing your experience. Do you actually have this laser at home? the laser itself is quite expensive, $55,000. I've had 3 sessions so far; they say it takes 6-10 to decide if it's going to help or not. I have not had any improvement so far, but I continue to be hopeful. I am going to start ART tomorrow. The chiro doing the laser thinks doing the 2 together is a great idea. I know there is a ton of scar/fibrotic tissue in my heel - I have lots of rice crispies when i rub it myself, so I'm hopeful ART will get rid of alot of it. I had AT a few years ago. That is another crappy injury, although it responded quite well to ART, eccentric stretching and orthotics. It's never reared it's ugly head again, thank God!