Introduction: Obese people are at risk of Plantar fasciitis due to increased pressure on plantar fascia. Mechanical changes in plantar fascia is surely associated with obesity. With this objective present study was undertaken to evaluate USG findings of plantar fascia and heel pad thickness (HPT) amongst asymptomatic and symptomatic cases of heel pain Material And Method: 25 patients with symptom of heel pain and 25 healthy participants without heel pain between age 18 to 60 years were enrolled. Ultrasonography (USG) was performed in all participants (N=50) and plantar fascial thickness & heel pad thickness were assessed Result: Mean age in cases were 38.96 ± 5.97 and in controls were 41 ± 7.18. Mean BMI in cases were 28.64 ± 2.98 and in controls were 20.92 ± 1.07. PFT(mm) mean in cases on right side were 3.46 ± 0.92 and on left side were 3.51 ± 0.73. In controls on right side were 2.96 ± 0.47 and on left side were 2.9 ± 0.52. (p value Right 0.02 Left 0.001). HPT (mm) mean in cases on right side were 22.256 ± 2.77 and on left side were 21.96 ± 2.77. In controls on right side were 19.1 ± 4.03 and on left side were 19.32 ± 5.37. (p value Right 0.002 Left 0.034). Discussion: Body mass index (BMI) was higher in the cases compared to control group in our study suggesting that obesity may be a factor predisposing to heel pain by exerting excessive stress on the plantar fascia Conclusion: There is significant correlation (p <0.05) observed between plantar fascial thickness, heel pad thickness (HPT) and BMI.
Joshi et al. (Fri,) studied this question.