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A Retrospective Study of Radiofrequency Thermal Lesioning for the Treatment of Neuritis of the Medial Calcaneal nerve and its Terminal Branches in Chronic Heel Pain

Cione JA, Cozzarelli J, Mullin CJ.

We undertook a retrospective analysis of 75 consecutive patients with recalcitrant plantar heel pain caused by calcaneal neuritis, all who were treated with radiofrequency thermal lesioning (RTL). The median age of the cohort was 55 (range 24 to 83) years, 25 (33.3%) of the patients were male, 50 (66.7%) of the patients were female, and 15 (20%) of the patients were treated for bilateral heel pain caused by medial calcaneal neuritis. The median preoperative VAS score was 9 (range 2 to 10), whereas the median long-term postoperative VAS score was 1 (range 0 to 8), and this difference was highly statistically significant ( < .0001). Five (6.7%) of the patients experienced recurrent heel pain, over a median follow-up duration of 18 (range 12 to 36) months. Overall, 93.3% of the patients experienced satisfactory pain relief with radiofrequency lesioning for the treatment of recalcitrant plantar heel pain caused by medial calcaneal neuritis. Level of Clinical Evidence: 2

J Foot & Ankle Surg 48(2): 142-147, 2009.