Dilemas in management of plantar fascitis

Abstract

Background: Plantar fascitis is a common condition that occurs in the heel, and approximately 11% to 15% of adult foot symptoms are plantar fascitis. In terms of treatment, various methods have been used in the treatment of plantar fascitis, both conservative and surgical methods. When these conservative treatments fail, injecting steroids and Platelet rich plasma injection is considered an option. Both methods have proven good results in different studies. The purpose of this study was to assess the role and efficacy of isolated corticosteroids injection versus platelet rich plasma injection versus combination of both in the treatment of plantar fascitis. Materials and Methods: A total of 95 patients were studied. Patients were divided into three groups. Group A had 35 patients of which 25 were females and 10 were males and they received only platelet rich plasma injection. The Group B had 30 patients 16females and 14maleswho received corticosteroid injection only and Group C had 40 patients of which 20 were males and 20 were females who received both corticosteroid injection and platelet rich plasma. The evaluation of pain was done using VAS score. Results: Visual Analog Scores on 0 day, the day of injection for group A, B, C were 6.75, 4 and 5.85 respectively. The study showed a lower VAS scores with the combined and corticosteroid group till 3 months and no significant change at the end of 6 months. Conclusion: Our study has shown that corticosteroid injection group is effective for immediate pain relief, group but in long term there is no significant change in all the three groups.