Effect of Acupuncture Treatment on Heel Pain Due to Plantar Fasciitis

Tillu, Abhay; Gupta, Shivali

doi:10.1136/aim.16.2.66

Cited by 30 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Since there is scientifi c evidence supporting a link between electrical stimulation of acupuncture points and the release of endorphins, these researchers also theorised that electro-acupuncture could activate the body's pain relief system, increasing the concentration of endorphins in the central nervous system and decreasing the amount of pain signals that arrive at the spinal cord level. (30,31) The present study was not without limitations. As a single author performed this review, the possibility of bias in study selection and appraisal, which could have impacted its results, cannot be disregarded.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How effective is acupuncture for reducing pain due to plantar fasciitis?

Thiagarajah¹

2017

smedj

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INTRODUCTION Plantar fasciitis is a commonly seen outpatient condition that has numerous treatment modalities of varying degrees of effi cacy. This systematic review aimed to determine the effectiveness of acupuncture in reducing pain caused by plantar fasciitis. METHODSOnline literature searches were performed on the PubMed and Cochrane Library databases for studies on the use of acupuncture for pain caused by plantar fasciitis. Studies designed as randomised controlled trials and that compared acupuncture with standard treatments or had real versus sham acupuncture arms were selected. The Delphi list was used to assess the methodological quality of the studies retrieved.RESULTS Three studies that compared acupuncture with standard treatment and one study on real versus sham acupuncture were found. These showed that acupuncture signifi cantly reduced pain levels in patients with plantar fasciitis, as measured on the visual analogue scale and the Plantar Fasciitis Pain/Disability Scale. These benefi ts were noted between four and eight weeks of treatment, with no further signifi cant reduction in pain beyond this duration. Side effects were found to be minimal. CONCLUSIONAlthough acupuncture may reduce plantar fasciitis pain in the short term, there is insuffi cient evidence for a defi nitive conclusion regarding its effectiveness in the longer term. Further research is required to strengthen the acceptance of acupuncture among healthcare providers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How effective is acupuncture for reducing pain due to plantar fasciitis?

Thiagarajah¹

2017

smedj

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“…muscle tissue) and non-TrP structures (i.e. neural and connective tissues) in combination, or non-TrP structures alone, is effective for the reduction of pain and disability in knee osteoarthritis,50–50–51,81–83,85–90,166–168 hip osteoarthritis,53,91–94 piriformis syndrome,60 carpal tunnel syndrome,36,37,40,41,44,45,47 migraine,95–101 tension type headache,97,98,102 temporomandibular disorder,59,67,103–107 shoulder pain,108–110 neck pain,23,24,29,35,61,63–65,80,111–114 low back pain,4,5,19,20,66,69,115–125 and plantar fasciitis 48,49,54,56,126,127…”

Section: Trp Needling Is Only One Kind Of Dry Needlingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While many of these studies directly use the term ‘dry needling’,5,18,21,26,33,56,64,67,104,110 in their methodology, other studies use alternative terminology such as ‘deep dry needling’,67 ‘superficial dry needling’,55,128 ‘TrP acupuncture’,20,80 ‘paraspinal needling’,64 ‘intramuscular and nerve root needling’,65 ‘needle electrical intramuscular stimulation’,129 ‘needle release’,113 ‘acupuncture needling’,63,113 ‘needling therapy’,17 ‘acupuncture’36–38,40,41,47,49–55,61,69,72,81–88,90,92,94–100,105–108,112,115–117,119–123,130–135 and ‘electroacupuncture’ 37,46,93,126,127,136–139. Some studies have even chosen to use both ‘acupuncture and dry needling’19,23,24,62,77 in their titles.…”

Section: Trp Needling Is Only One Kind Of Dry Needlingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Physiotherapists and/or medical physicians114–116,119,171–174 within both government administered national health services and mainstream university health systems53,90,97–99,114,123,133,134 in the UK,49,51,52,84,100,101,131,132 Canada,114 USA and Germany53,90,97–99,123,133,134 use the term ‘acupuncture’ to describe dry needling methodologies. The same is true of articles published in mainstream, highly respected journals, including the British Medical Journal ,84,89,100,101,112,124 European Journal of Pain ,24,131 Archives of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation ,17,22,60,109,140,141 Pain ,6,44,87,111,123,125,133,136,142 Annals of Internal Medicine ,4,81,86,88,117,132 Headache ,95,96 Rheumatology ,35,51,82,85 Spine ,5,19,66,114,118,119,121,135 and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.…”

Section: Trp Needling Is Only One Kind Of Dry Needlingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dry needling: a literature review with implications for clinical practice guidelines

Dunning¹,

Butts

Mourad³

et al. 2014

Physical Therapy Reviews

243

205

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Background:Wet needling uses hollow-bore needles to deliver corticosteroids, anesthetics, sclerosants, botulinum toxins, or other agents. In contrast, dry needling requires the insertion of thin monofilament needles, as used in the practice of acupuncture, without the use of injectate into muscles, ligaments, tendons, subcutaneous fascia, and scar tissue. Dry needles may also be inserted in the vicinity of peripheral nerves and/or neurovascular bundles in order to manage a variety of neuromusculoskeletal pain syndromes. Nevertheless, some position statements by several US State Boards of Physical Therapy have narrowly defined dry needling as an ‘intramuscular’ procedure involving the isolated treatment of ‘myofascial trigger points’ (MTrPs).Objectives:To operationalize an appropriate definition for dry needling based on the existing literature and to further investigate the optimal frequency, duration, and intensity of dry needling for both spinal and extremity neuromusculoskeletal conditions.Major findings:According to recent findings in the literature, the needle tip touches, taps, or pricks tiny nerve endings or neural tissue (i.e. ‘sensitive loci’ or ‘nociceptors’) when it is inserted into a MTrP. To date, there is a paucity of high-quality evidence to underpin the use of direct dry needling into MTrPs for the purpose of short and long-term pain and disability reduction in patients with musculoskeletal pain syndromes. Furthermore, there is a lack of robust evidence validating the clinical diagnostic criteria for trigger point identification or diagnosis. High-quality studies have also demonstrated that manual examination for the identification and localization of a trigger point is neither valid nor reliable between-examiners.Conclusions:Several studies have demonstrated immediate or short-term improvements in pain and/or disability by targeting trigger points (TrPs) using in-and-out techniques such as ‘pistoning’ or ‘sparrow pecking’; however, to date, no high-quality, long-term trials supporting in-and-out needling techniques at exclusively muscular TrPs exist, and the practice should therefore be questioned. The insertion of dry needles into asymptomatic body areas proximal and/or distal to the primary source of pain is supported by the myofascial pain syndrome literature. Physical therapists should not ignore the findings of the Western or biomedical ‘acupuncture’ literature that have used the very same ‘dry needles’ to treat patients with a variety of neuromusculoskeletal conditions in numerous, large scale randomized controlled trials. Although the optimal frequency, duration, and intensity of dry needling has yet to be determined for many neuromusculoskeletal conditions, the vast majority of dry needling randomized controlled trials have manually stimulated the needles and left them in situ for between 10 and 30 minute durations. Position statements and clinical practice guidelines for dry needling should be based on the best available literature, not a single paradigm or school of thought; therefore, ...

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“…While this has the merit of simplicity, it may not reflect a reality that is complex. This review has shown that MTPs may give additional benefit when added to classical acupuncture 37 and also that acupuncture unrelated to MTPs confers significant benefits. 34 Clinical experience (RJC) shows that some patients have MTPs related to their heel pain and others do not; there is a need to explore the possibility that these are two pathologically distinct groups, requiring different treatment approaches.…”

Section: Tenderness Scores Changed Littlementioning

confidence: 99%

The Effectiveness of Acupuncture for Plantar Heel Pain: A Systematic Review

Clark

Tighe

2012

Acupunct Med

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Introduction Plantar heel pain (PHP) is a common complaint, yet there are no definitive guidelines for its treatment. Acupuncture is increasingly used by podiatrists, and there is a need for evidence to validate this practice. It is acknowledged that PHP and acupuncture are both complex phenomena. Method A systematic review (PROSPERO no. CRD42012001881) of the effectiveness of acupuncture for PHP is presented. Quality of the studies was assessed by independent assessors with reference to Quality Index (QI), ‘STandards for Reporting Interventions in Controlled Trials of Acupuncture’ (STRICTA) and ‘CONsolidated Standards Of Reporting Trials’ (CONSORT) criteria. Pooling of data, or even close comparison of studies, was not performed. Results Five randomised controlled trials and three non-randomised comparative studies were included. High quality studies report significant benefits. In one, acupuncture was associated with significant improvement in pain and function when combined with standard treatment (including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). In another, acupuncture point PC7 improved pain and pressure pain threshold significantly more than LI4. Other papers were of lower quality but suggest benefits from other acupuncture approaches. Conclusions There is evidence supporting the effectiveness of acupuncture for PHP. This is comparable to the evidence available for conventionally used interventions, such as stretching, night splints or dexamethasone. Therefore acupuncture should be considered in recommendations for the management of patients with PHP. Future research should recognise the complexity of PHP, of acupuncture and of the relationship between them, to explore the optimum use and integration of this approach. There is a need for more uniformity in carrying out and reporting such work and the use of STRICTA is recommended.

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Effect of Acupuncture Treatment on Heel Pain Due to Plantar Fasciitis

Cited by 30 publications

References 14 publications

How effective is acupuncture for reducing pain due to plantar fasciitis?

How effective is acupuncture for reducing pain due to plantar fasciitis?

Dry needling: a literature review with implications for clinical practice guidelines

The Effectiveness of Acupuncture for Plantar Heel Pain: A Systematic Review

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