Management of heel pain syndrome with acetic acid iontophoresis

This study was undertaken to determine the effectiveness of acetic acid ion tophoresis in the treatment of heel pain. Thirty-five patients with chronic heel pain were treated with acetic acid iontophoresis over a 4-year period . Ninety-four percent of patients had complete or substantial relief of hee l pain after an average of 5.7 sessions of acetic acid iontophoresis over a n average period of 2.8 weeks. Heel pain levels were rated from 0 to 10, wi th 10 representing the most severe pain. Heel pain prior to iontophoresis t reatment received an average rating of 7.5; by the end of therapy, the aver age rating had decreased to 1.8. At an average follow-up time of 27 months, heel pain levels averaged 0.64, indicating continued reduction in heel pai n. Ninety-four percent of participants said that they would recommend aceti c acid iontophoresis to someone with similar heel pain.