Radial Extra Corporeal Shockwave Therapy Versus Ultrasound Therapy in the Treatment of Plantar Fasciitis

Abstract

Introduction: Patients with plantar fasciitis usually suffer from reduced mobility due to the pain caused by the movement of the tendons involved. Aim: This study was aimed to compare both shockwave and ultrasound therapies in patients with plantar fasciitis by assessing the pain intensity, and both the functionality of the lower limbs and the quality of life impairments. Methods: Total amount of 88 patients with plantar fasciitis constituted the shockwave group, 56 the ultrasound group and 15 the control group. The self-administered questionnaire “University of Peloponnese Pain, Functionality and Quality of Life Questionnaire” was used. The intensity of pain, functionality impairment and quality of life impairment were evaluated on a five-point Likert scale, before treatment, immediately after and at 4-week follow-up. Results: The pain reduction and the improvement of functionality and quality of life after shockwave treatment and ultrasound treatment significantly increased both post-treatment (p<0,001) and at the 4-week follow-up (p<0,001) compared to post-treatment. However, the improvements in the ultrasound group were not as pronounced as in shockwave group (p<0,001). Conclusions: Although both radial shockwave and ultrasound therapies were found to be effective in patients with plantar fasciitis, the statistical analysis showed that radial shockwave is significantly more effective than ultrasound therapy.

Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy Versus Ultrasound Therapy for Plantar Fasciitis: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…In Figure 4, functional impairment was reported by Konjen et al 23 , Akınoğlu et al (2017) 25 and Dedes et al 27 enrolling 106 patients. There was no significant statistical difference seen in the standard mean difference analyses showing a higher functional impairment in the ESWT group compared to the UST group (Standard MD = -2.90, CI = -7.51 to 1.72, P = 0.22).…”

“…Based on Ulusoy et al 24 and Dedes et al 27 , there was a reduction in the activity limitations in both groups, but in comparison, ESWT treatment modality was more effective than UST (P < 0.05).…”

“…For non-randomised studies, the Newcastle-Ottawa scale 29 was used to assess its quality which offers a star system for analysis (Table 3). Although Cheing et al 21 and dedes et al 27 showed a low comparability, the study had a high quality for selection and exposure. is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in (which was not certified by peer review) preprint Table 3.…”

“…Pain intensity after treatment was reported to be significantly (P < 0.05) lower for the UST group than the ESWT group in Akinoglu et al 25 and Akinoglu et al 26 . Conversely, Dedes et al 27 reported significantly improved results in the ESWT group both immediately after the treatment and after 4-week follow-up (P < 0.001). Both Cheing et al 21 and Greve et al 22 concluded that ESWT is potentially more effective in reducing pain intensity with no significant difference between the two groups.…”

“…Dedes et al 27 Dedes et al performed a single centre prospective cohort study that included 156 patients with chronic plantar fasciitis attending an orthopaedic clinic. The study period was from February 2015 to August 2017.…”