A Review of Plantar Fasciitis Treatments

A review of 28 trials concluded that moderate-quality and low-quality evidence demonstrates customised orthoses and taping, respectively, reduce pain intensity in the short term in patients with plantar fasciitis.

The objective of this systematic review was to investigate the impact of both pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies on pain intensity and disability in individuals with plantar fasciitis. The review included 28 randomized controlled trials, examining 17 different therapies.

For non-pharmacological interventions, moderate certainty evidence indicated that customised orthoses had short-term effects, reducing pain intensity, with a mean difference of -12.0 points on a 0–100 scale. Additionally, low certainty evidence suggested short-term effects of taping on pain intensity, with a mean difference of -21.3 points.

However, the long-term effects and effects on disability for these non-pharmacological therapies remained uncertain. Regarding pharmacological therapies, the evidence from a limited number of trials with small samples was inconclusive, emphasizing the need for high-quality trials to draw definitive conclusions. In summary, moderate and low-quality evidence supports the effectiveness of customised orthoses and taping in reducing short-term pain intensity in patients with plantar fasciitis.

Lourenço BM, Campos MGM, Maia L, et al. Efficacy of pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies on pain intensity and disability for plantar fasciitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2023;57:1516-1521.

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