My name is Vicky, I am a Nurse Practitioner with 15 years of practice. About 18 years ago, I had surgery to remove a bone spur in my right Achilles tendon. The pain interfered with my ability to walk and work and parent. While the recovery was long, the results were good. Over time, the “bump” on the back of my heel returned and became very painful again.
The pain was present most of the time for the last eighteen months. It was a dull aching pain that became sharp and stabbing with each step, easily an 8 of 10 on the pain scale. I avoided walking, never took the stairs and limped most days. I saw a surgeon who told me I had a spur on top of the original spur and the only treatment was another surgery. I wasn’t ready to go through that again. I sought out soft soled shoes, never with a back on them, as it irritated my heel. I found temporary relief with kinetic taping. I also found relief with acupuncture and was able to get down to a treatment every 2 weeks.
I will be forever grateful to my acupuncturist who told me about Dr Bocian and his laser treatments. She thought they might help me. I set up an appointment for an evaluation. Dr Bocian was great. He thoroughly explained the treatment and time investment and told me it was a new area and it might not work. Dr. Bocian’s explanation of how the treatment could modify my painful heel made sense to me and so we started.
After 10 weekly treatments, I can tell you that I am at least 99% better with no down time! I occasionally have a short stabbing pain in my heel that lasts a couple seconds, maybe once a week. Even that seems to be decreasing over time. I can wear athletic shoes and have resumed walking for exercise. I take the stairs whenever I get a chance. My mood is much better because of my increased activity and the lack of chronic pain.
I am extremely satisfied with the laser treatment for Achilles tendonitis and with Dr Bocian and his staff. I highly recommend the treatment if you have this debilitating diagnosis.
Vicky N, NP
Tucson, AZ
5/01/18