stem cell injection recovery

Recovery and Treatment, Not Masking Pain

In medicine today, it’s common to take medication that masks pain and hides symptoms. I’ve talked before about my belief that getting down to the root of the problem is the more important.

When I developed plantar fasciitis, I was in a lot of pain. Of course I wanted it to go away, but I also knew I needed to treat the injury at its root. I needed to get the pain to go away for good.

If you’ve ever had plantar fasciitis, you know how unbearable it is. It’s a searing pain that flares up any time you put weight on the foot. For most people, that’s pretty much all day. There’s inflammation in the foot because the body is trying to heal itself, and medications only delay the healing process. I try to stay away from pain medications most of the time anyway.

I used the exercises and stretches that I shared in another post, but I also took another route. I decided to opt for stem cell injections, an elective procedure that’s not covered by most insurance plans.

The Process

Getting a stem cell injection was a way to quickly heal my foot and minimize the down time. It’s done with a local anesthetic and the injury pain starts to dissipate quickly–within 24 to 48 hours. Electric pulse stimulation is also done to help the blood vessels open and rejuvenate the area.

From there, my doctor, Dr. Gorman from Scottsdale Footcare, recommended ice and rest until it was totally healed.

I literally went from limping like I’m 50 to walking normally in a matter of days. In fact, I couldn’t even remember how bad the pain was a week later.

However, the reality is that I’m still not fully healed. The injections could take up to four months to fully work their magic, allowing new cells to grow and regenerate. But on the plus side, I keep feeling better every day. And the stem cells won’t stop working at my foot. It has ongoing benefits through my entire body.

Stem cell therapy isn’t for everyone. For one, it’s expensive. But I was willing to pay for the treatment out of pocket to get relief sooner rather than later. I still need to take care of myself and continue to do my stretches–especially after the doctors call me fully healed.

About Lee

I am a 44-year old married mom of 4. I love my family. If you’re a mom, then you know kids and a spouse keep you busy. It’s easy to forget yourself in the process of taking care of your family. My mission is to help other moms take care of themselves so they can be more available to their loved ones and lead more fulfilling lives.