A pilot study of injection therapy and a home care programme in the management of plantar fasciitis: a pilot study

Objectives. To determine if injection therapy and a home care programme is superior to a home care programme in the treatment of plantar fasciitis.Design. Quantitative, non-blinded, experimental, pilot study. Subjects were incidentally sampled and alternately placed in the control group (home care programme) or experimental group (injection plus home care programme). Subjects were assessed over a 14-week period.Setting. A physiotherapy clinic in a health centre. All subjects were assessed and treated by the same physiotherapist.Participants. Seven subjects with a total of nine cases of plantar fasciitis (two were bilateral).Main outcome measures. Pain as evaluated by a visual analogue scale. Secondary measures were lower limb function using the Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS) and plantar fascia rupture.Results. Overall average pain scores reduced greatly in both groups, with the experimental group showing a quicker response, particularly in the first two weeks after injection. Overall average function scores increased in both groups, with the experimental group showing a quicker response, particularly in the first two weeks after injection. By week 14 there was little difference between the groups for pain and function outcome measures. No subjects demonstrated plantar fascia rupture.Conclusions. Both a home care programme or a home care programme plus injection appeared to benefit plantar fasciitis, with an injection seeming to offer a quicker improvement of symptoms but with no long-term benefits. Further research is required so that any statistically significant difference between these two treatments can be shown.