Background: Chronic plantar fasciitis (PF) often resists conservative therapies. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP), a regenerative biologic therapy, has emerged as a minimally invasive option, yet its long-term efficacy, particularly with a single injection, requires further exploration. Objective: To evaluate the long-term clinical outcomes of a single PRP injection in patients with chronic PF through a retrospective and prospective observational study. Methods: A single-cohort, observational study was conducted at a tertiary care centre, encompassing 59 patients diagnosed with chronic PF unresponsive to 3 months of conservative treatment, out of which 3 were lost to follow up. All participants received a single PRP injection and were followed for 12 months. Pain and function were assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Roles and Maudsley (RM) score at predefined intervals. SPSS v25 was used for statistical analysis. Results: VAS scores significantly decreased from a mean of 7.48 at baseline to 1.04 at 12 months (p<0.0001). RM scores decreased from a mean of 3.34 to 1.00 in the same period (p<0.0001). The majority of pain and functional improvement occurred within the first 3 months, with sustained benefits through 12 months. No complications were reported. Using a ≥2-point reduction in VAS and ≥1-point reduction in RM score as clinically meaningful, 89.2% of patients met the VAS MCID and 85.7% met the RM MCID by 3 months post-injection. Conclusion: A single PRP injection provides significant, sustained pain relief and functional recovery in patients with chronic PF. Given its safety and efficacy profile, PRP may be a viable non-surgical option for patient’s refractory to conservative therapy. Given the observational design, causality cannot be definitively established. Nonetheless, the treatment’s safety and durability suggest it is promising for patients with refractory PF.
Jain et al. (Mon,) studied this question.