A Case Series to know the Efficacy of Hypodermic Needle over Acupuncture Needle to perform Viddhagnikarma in the management of Pain due to Plantar Fasciitis - A Pilot Study

Viddhagnikarma is a novel and unique method of pain management. It is the modification of the traditional Agnikarma narrated by Acharya Sushruta where in heat is applied over affected area with desired temperature to alleviate pain. In Viddhagni Karma a monopolar cautery machine probe is used to transmit the temperature through a needle pierced to area of concern. In order to achieve better pain management with minimal piercing and less scar formation, 26 1½ hypodermic needle and acupuncture needles were used in a sample of 10 subjects suffering from plantar fasciitis. It was observed that hypodermic needle was better compared to acupuncture needle in terms of tolerance of heat, minimal scar formation and overall improvement in pain. Hence hypodermic needles were considered over acupuncture needle to conduct Viddhagni Karma in the management of plantar fasciitis.