Sonographic and clinical effects of manual physical therapy for plantar fasciitis: randomized prospective controlled trial

• Published in: Journal of ultrasound 2024-09, Vol.27 (3), p.487-500
• Main Authors: Khammas, Abdul Sattar Arif, Mahmud, Rozi, Hassan, Hasyma Abu, Ibrahim, Idris, Mohammed, Safwan Saeed
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adipose Tissue - diagnostic imaging; Adult; Effectiveness; Fasciitis, Plantar - diagnostic imaging; Fasciitis, Plantar - therapy; Female; Humans; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Morphology; Musculoskeletal Manipulations - methods; Pain; Physical therapy; Physical Therapy Modalities; Plantar fasciitis; Plantar tissues; Prospective Studies; Thickness; Treatment Outcome; Ultrasonography - methods; Ultrasound
• ISSN: 1876-7931; 1971-3495; 1876-7931
• DOI: 10.1007/s40477-023-00833-0

Objective This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of manual physiotherapy on clinical outcomes, morphology of plantar fascia (PF), thicknesses of calcaneal fat pad (CFP) and Kager’s fat pad (KFP) with ultrasound imaging in plantar fasciitis (PFS) patients. Also, to evaluate the PF thickness, pain and foot functional outcomes among PFS phases. Methods A randomized controlled trial was conducted on 122 subjects divided into three groups: group A (40 patients with PFS) underwent manual physiotherapy, group B (42 patients with PFS) without any intervention and group C (40 healthy subjects) were matched by age, gender and BMI with each patient in group A and B. The following outcomes were evaluated at baseline and one-month of follow-ups: morphology of PF and thicknesses of CFP and KFP, pain, foot functional limitation. Results PF thickness was significantly thickened in group A and B compared to group C ( P