Brave New World: The Future of Foot Treatment

Did you know that procedures created to make your face look younger can help your feet? And those high-tech treatments made famous by celebrities and pro athletes may be able to ease your pain? It may sound crazy, but it’s true. Here, I’ll detail some of the cutting-edge techniques that are on the horizon in foot care.

Excerpts from My Feet Are Killing Me

Platelet-rich plasma therapy Brave New World by Dr. Levine (PRP). Have you ever heard of the “Vampire Facelift?” If it sounds strange, trendy, and perfect for reality TV, you’re right. First, let me explain what PRP entails. In this procedure, a patient’s blood is drawn and placed in a centrifuge where the platelet-enriched portion is separated from the rest. The platelets, which are believed to enhance tissue healing because they contain growth factors, are injected into an injury such as Achilles tendonitis, heel pain, knee pain, plantar fasciitis, and other inflammatory conditions like shoulder injuries. The patient’s PRP is injected into the area of inflammation and the high concentration of growth factors helps to accelerate the process of tissue healing and repair. Proponents of the Vampire Facelift say that the PRP is injected into the face and neck to treat wrinkles and rejuvenate the skin. (Reportedly, gift certificates for these $5,000 facials were in the goody bags at the Academy Awards.) I’m not sure about the benefits of a Vampire Facelift, but my experience using PRP to repair my patients’ soft tissue injuries of the foot or ankle has been very positive. And I’m not the only one. Some professional athletes have reportedly been getting PRP to speed healing from their injuries so they can get back to work. For example, golfer Tiger Woods, basketball’s Kobe Bryant, tennis player Rafeal Nadal, and baseball’s Alex Rodriguez all are said to have had PRP therapy for knee injuries. (Alex Rodriquez is accused of using other enhancement treatments as well—but that is a different story.)Doctors have been using PRP since the mid-1990s for bone healing, but it has gained a lot of popularity in soft tissue injuries and inflammatory conditions. NSAIDs, oral steroids and local steroid injections are standard treatments for these injuries. But steroid injections can have negative affects like focal atrophy and NSAIDs can cause ulcers and stomach bleeding. Also, unlike steroids, which can’t be injected more than a few times without risks, PRP therapy is something that can be done numerous times (up to 12). It’s also safe because you’re using a patient’s own blood and allergic reactions are very uncommon. For my patients, I usually do treatments about a month apart with ultrasound guidance. (The ultrasound helps localize the area of injection more accurately.) In some cases, PRP may be covered by insurance. Stem cell injections and Future of Foot Treatment: Unlike PRP, you’ve probably heard about stem cells. They seem to make the news more often than PRP mostly in regard to their potential to treat chronic ailments like Parkinson’s disease and diabetes. What’s amazing about stem cells is that they are “pluripotent undifferentiated cells” meaning that they can become any type of cells including heart, fat, muscle, bone, nerve, and pancreatic cells, among others, and that they can help decrease inflammation and speed up the natural healing process. In fact, stem cells are also being used for a type of “facelift” where they’re injected into the face in the hopes that they’ll boost the production of wrinkle-smoothing collagen. Doctors who perform this $5,000 – $10,000 nonsurgical treatment boast about their results. You’ll never say My Feet Are Killing Me! again.