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| Format: | Recurso digital |
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Zenodo
2025
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17831395 |
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Table of Contents:
- <div> <div> <p><strong>Background</strong>: Plantar fasciitis (PF) is a common, often chronic cause of heel pain, with an estimated lifetime incidence of ~10%. [1][2]. It is characterized histologically by degenerative changes (fasciosis) rather than acute inflammation [3]. Conservative treatments are first-line but when pain persists, interventions like corticosteroid injection (CSI) or dry needling (DN) are often used. [4], CSI typically gives rapid but short-lived pain relief and carries risks (e.g. fascia rupture) [5][6]. DN (insertion of acupuncture-like needles into trigger points) is a minimally-invasive technique hypothesized to stimulate local healing and neuromodulation [5][7].</p> <p><strong>Aim</strong>: To compare the short-term and long-term efficacy and safety of dry needling (DN) versus ultrasound-guided corticosteroid injection (CSI) in patients with chronic plantar fasciitis.</p> <p><strong>Methods</strong>: We conducted a randomized, prospective comparative study in 60 adults (age 18–70) with chronic PF (>6 weeks duration; VAS pain ≥4). Subjects were allocated to DN (n=30) or CSI (n=30). The DN group received four weekly sessions of trigger-point dry needling into the plantar fascia and calf musculature. The CSI group received a single injection of 20 mg triamcinolone acetonide mixed with lidocaine at the medial calcaneal origin; a second injection at 6 weeks was permitted if needed. Outcomes measured at baseline, 6, 12, and 24 weeks included visual analog scale (VAS) for first-step heel pain, Foot Function Index (FFI), and plantar fascia thickness by ultrasound.</p> <p><strong>Results</strong>: All 60 patients completed the study. Baseline demographics (age, sex, BMI, pain duration, baseline VAS/FFI) were comparable between groups (p>0.05) (Table 1). Both groups showed significant improvement in VAS and FFI by 12 weeks (within-group p<0.001). Mean VAS improvement at 12 weeks was 3.8±2.1 (DN) vs 4.1±2.0 (CSI) (between-group p=0.46), indicating similar short-term relief (Table 2). By 24 weeks, the DN group maintained significantly greater pain reduction: mean VAS was 1.8±1.3 in DN vs 2.7±1.9 in CSI (p=0.04). FFI scores showed a similar pattern, with significantly better function in DN at 24 weeks (mean FFI 18.7±5.3 vs 24.5±6.2; p=0.01) (Table 2). Mild transient soreness at needling sites was reported in the DN group (no treatment discontinuations) [8][6].</p> <p><strong>Conclusions</strong>: In chronic plantar fasciitis, dry needling provided pain relief and functional improvement comparable to corticosteroid injection at 3 months and superior long-term outcomes at 6 months.</p> </div> </div> <div></div>