Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Department of Orthopedics, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, USA.
Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2019 Jan 19;23(1):4. doi: 10.1007/s11916-019-0745-5.
Chronic pain of the lower extremity remains challenging to manage. Radiofrequency treatment applies heat to nerve fibers with the goal of mitigating chronic pain conditions. The clinical efficacy has not yet been adequately established for pathologies of the ankle and foot. In this review paper, we report the use and efficacy of radiofrequency treatment applied to foot and ankle pain.
PubMed and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register were searched (final search 30 March 2018) using the MeSH terms "radiofrequency ablation," "neurolysis," "radiofrequency therapy," "pain syndrome," "analgesia," "plantar heel pain," "plantar fascitis," and "chronic pain" in the English literature. Of the 23 papers screened, 18 were further investigated for relevance. Our final search methodology yielded 15 studies that investigated the use of radiofrequency treatment at the ankle. Of these 15 studies, there were three randomized control trials, four prospective studies, three retrospective studies, and five case reports. The quality of selected publications was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias instrument. The evidence from our studies suggests that radiofrequency treatment can be used safely for the management foot and ankle pain. The technique (continuous vs pulsatile), temperature, location of treatment, and duration of administration need more thorough evaluation. Randomized control trials are needed to establish the efficacy and safety profile of radiofrequency ablation and its long-term benefits in patients with chronic pain of the foot and ankle.
The evidence from our studies suggests that radiofrequency treatment can be used safely for the management foot and ankle pain. The technique (continuous vs pulsatile), temperature, location of treatment, and duration of administration need more thorough evaluation. Randomized control trials are needed to establish the efficacy and safety profile of radiofrequency ablation and its long-term benefits in patients with chronic pain of the foot and ankle.
下肢慢性疼痛仍然难以治疗。射频治疗通过加热神经纤维来减轻慢性疼痛。但对于踝关节和足部的病理情况，其临床疗效尚未得到充分证实。在这篇综述中，我们报告了射频治疗在足部和踝关节疼痛中的应用和疗效。
使用 MeSH 术语“射频消融”、“神经松解”、“射频治疗”、“疼痛综合征”、“镇痛”、“足底跟痛”、“足底筋膜炎”和“慢性疼痛”在英文文献中搜索 PubMed 和 Cochrane 对照试验注册中心（最终搜索日期为 2018 年 3 月 30 日）。在筛选出的 23 篇论文中，有 18 篇进一步调查了相关性。我们的最终搜索方法产生了 15 项研究，这些研究调查了在踝关节使用射频治疗的情况。在这 15 项研究中，有 3 项随机对照试验、4 项前瞻性研究、3 项回顾性研究和 5 项病例报告。使用 Cochrane 偏倚风险工具评估选定出版物的质量。我们的研究结果表明，射频治疗可安全用于治疗足部和踝关节疼痛。该技术（连续与脉冲）、温度、治疗部位和治疗持续时间需要更彻底的评估。需要随机对照试验来确定射频消融的疗效和安全性，并确定其在慢性足部和踝关节疼痛患者中的长期益处。
我们的研究结果表明，射频治疗可安全用于治疗足部和踝关节疼痛。该技术（连续与脉冲）、温度、治疗部位和治疗持续时间需要更彻底的评估。需要随机对照试验来确定射频消融的疗效和安全性，并确定其在慢性足部和踝关节疼痛患者中的长期益处。
