Objective: To compare the effectiveness of routine physical therapy with and without manual therapy in the treatment of plantar fasciitis.
Background: Plantar fasciitis (PF) is commonly known as plantar heel pain, the pain on the medial plantar side of the foot in heel area. It is the common etiology of plantar pain and constitutes nearly 15% of foot dysfunctions in Americans.
Methods: Referred patients of plantar fasciitis filled a questionnaire, containing the Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS), the Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM) and the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS). All the patients were randomly allocated in either routine physical therapy with manual therapy (RPT-MT) or routine physical therapy (RPT) alone method. All measures were taken at baseline and at 3and 6 weeks follow up. The basic objective of treatment in term of pain and function was measured with analysis of variance (ANOVA). There was a two way interaction between groups by time.
Result: Sixty (60) eligible patients (mean ± SD of age, (47.42 ± 9.1) years; 80% female) signed the consent form and were randomized into the RPT-MT (n = 30) and RPT (n= 30) groups. The RPT-MT group showed clinically expressive and substantial progress than RPT group. The overall group by time interaction was statistically significant for the LEFS (P=0.001), FAMM (P=0.001), and NPRS (P=0.001). The group differences measured in LEFS at both the 3 week 95% CI [14.93, 0.91] and 6 weeks 95% CI [12.46, 1.00] follow up. The RPT-MT group was also clinically substantial and expressive between group alterations over RPT group in terms of FAAM 95% CI [13.66, 1.31] for 3 and 6 weeks 95% CI [20.70, 0.914].
Conclusion: The result of this study provides evidence that RPT-MT is a superior management approach over an RPT approach in the management of individuals with plantar fasciitis.
Key words: Plantar fasciitis, foot ankle ability measure, Lower extremity functional scale, Numeric pain rating scale.
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