Role of Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy in Treatment of Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis (PF) is a common source of heel pains that affects 10.0% of the general population. This study assessed the effects of Extracorporeal Shock Wave therapy (ESWT) in terms of pain and functional outcome of foot in plantar fasciitis. The study was an experimental study conducted in Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, Bangladesh from July 2019 to June 2020. Total 74 patients with unilateral PF were purposively selected and randomly allocated in Group A (ESWT group) and Group B (conventional treatment group). Heel pain intensity and the impact of foot pathology on function were measured using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Foot Function Index (FFI) respectively. The VAS scores significantly decreased from 7.36±1.18 to 1.79±1.03 in patients after treatment with ESWT (p<0.001). The reduction of VAS score was significantly more in ESWT group compared to conventional treatment group at 4th week, 12th week and 24th week (p<0.05). The total FFI scores significantly decreased from 49.33±5.64 to 17.89±5.12 in patients after treatment with ESWT (p<0.001). The FFI scores significantly decreased from 48.07±4.02 to 20.99 ±5.65 in patients after conventional treatment (p<0.001). The reduction of FFI score was significantly more in ESWT group compared to conventional treatment group at 4th week, 12th week and 24th week (p<0.05). Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is effective in patients with plantar fasciitis to reduce pain and improvement of functional outcome. Though conservative treatment also improves pain and function in the foot, ESWT is more effective than conservative treatment.