Plantar fasciitis is a common cause of heel pain. It is a disabling disease in its chronic form. It is a degenerative tissue condition of the plantar fascia rather than an inflammation. Various treatment options are available, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroid injections, orthosis, and physiotherapy. This study compared the effects of local platelet-rich plasma, corticosteroid, and placebo injections in the treatment of chronic plantar fasciitis. In this double-blind study, patients were divided randomly into 3 groups. Local injections of platelet-rich plasma, corticosteroid, or normal saline were given. Patients were assessed with the visual analog scale for pain and with the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) Ankle and Hindfoot score before injection, at 3 weeks, and at 3-month follow-up. Mean visual analog scale score in the platelet-rich plasma and corticosteroid groups decreased from 7.44 and 7.72 preinjection to 2.52 and 3.64 at final follow-up, respectively. Mean AOFAS score in the platelet-rich plasma and corticosteroid groups improved from 51.56 and 55.72 preinjection to 88.24 and 81.32 at final follow-up, respectively. There was a significant improvement in visual analog scale score and AOFAS score in the platelet-rich plasma and corticosteroid groups at 3 weeks and at 3-month follow-up. There was no significant improvement in visual analog scale score or AOFAS score in the placebo group at any stage of the study. The authors concluded that local injection of platelet-rich plasma or corticosteroid is an effective treatment option for chronic plantar fasciitis. Platelet-rich plasma injection is as effective as or more effective than corticosteroid injection in treating chronic plantar fasciitis.

Therapeutic Level IV. See page 128 for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Background:Extraarticular fractures of distal humerus are challenging injuries to treat because of complex anatomy and fracture patterns. Functional bracing may not provide adequate stability in these injuries and operative treatment with intramedullary nails or conventional plates also has the limitation of inadequate fixation in the short distal fragment. The 3.5 mm precontoured single column locking plate (extraarticular distal humerus plate [EADHP]) has been introduced to overcome this problem. We evaluated the clinical and functional outcomes of treating these fractures with the EADHP.Materials and Methods:26 patients with extraarticular fractures of distal humerus presenting within 3 weeks of injury between January 2012 and June 2015, were included in this prospective study. Open IIIB and IIIC fractures, nonunions, or those with a history of previous infection in the arm were excluded. Operative fixation was done using the EADHP in all the cases. The time for union, range of motion at shoulder and elbow and secondary procedures were recorded in followup. The shoulder and elbow function was assessed using the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) shoulder scale and Mayo Elbow Performance Score (MEPS) respectively.Results:There were 21 males and 5 females with mean age of 37.3 years (range 18–72 years). Twenty two (84.6%) cases had complex fracture patterns (AO/OTA Type 12-B and C). The mean time to fracture union was 22.4 weeks (range 16–28 weeks). The mean followup time was 11.6 months, (range 4-24 months). Four patients (15.4%) had failure of cortical screws in the proximal fracture fragment, of which two required revision fixation with bone grafting. Another nonunion was seen following a surgical site infection, which healed after wound lavage and bone grafting. The MEPS (average: 96.1; range 80–100) was excellent in 81% cases (n = 21) and good in 19% cases (n = 5). UCLA score (average: 33.5; range 25-35) was good/excellent in 88.5% cases (n = 23) and fair in 11.5% cases (n = 3).Conclusion:EADHP is a reliable option in treating extraarticular distal humeral fractures as it provides stable fixation with an early return to function.

Broken drill bits constitute the largest proportion of broken orthopedic instruments. We report a new technique which allows atraumatic removal of cannulated drill bits. The technique is simple and does not require any special instrumentation.

Background. Dorsally comminuted distal radius fractures are unstable fractures and represent a treatment challenge. The objective of this study was to evaluate the functional and radiological outcome of dorsally comminuted fractures of the distal radius fixed with a volar locking plate. Patients and Methods. Thirty-three consecutive patients with dorsally comminuted fractures of the distal end of the radius were treated by open reduction and internal fixation with AO 2.4 mm (n = 19)/3.5 mm (n = 14) volar locking distal radius plate (Synthes, Switzerland, marketed by Synthes India Pvt. Ltd.). There were 7 type A3, 8 type C2, and 18 type C3 fractures. The patients were followed up at 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year postoperatively. Subjective assessment was done as per Disabilities Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) questionnaire. Functional evaluation was done by measuring grip strength and range of motion around the wrist; the radiological determinants were radial angle, radial length, volar angle, and ulnar variance. The final assessment was done as per Demerit point system of Saito. Results. There were 23 males and 10 females with an average age of 44.12 ± 18.63 years (18–61 years). Clinicoradiological consolidation of the fracture was observed in all cases at a mean of 9.6 weeks (range 7–12 weeks). The average final extension was 58.15° ± 7.83°, flexion was 54.62° ± 11.23°, supination was 84.23° ± 6.02°, and pronation was 80.92° ± 5.54°. Demerit point system of Saito yielded excellent results in 79% (n = 26), good in 18% (n = 6), and fair in 3% (n = 1) patients. Three patients had loss of reduction but none of the patients had tendon irritation or ruptures, implant failure, or nonunion at the end of an one-year followup. Conclusion. Volar locking plate fixation for dorsally comminuted distal radius fractures results in good to excellent functional outcomes despite a high incidence of loss of reduction and fracture collapse.