LONG TERM EFFECT OF RADIAL SHOCKWAVE THERAPY VERSUS PHONOPHORESIS IN CHRONIC PLANTAR FASCIITIS: "RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY"

Purpose: to look into the impacts of shock wave therapy versus phonophoresis in chronic plantar fasciitis.
Subjects: sixty-three patients having unilateral chronic plantar fasciitis.
Design: pre and post Randomized Control Trial.
Methods: The patients were randomly assigned to Group A who received Radial Shockwave Therapy (2000 SWs
energy intensity between 0.25 and 0.35 mJ/mm) at (frequency= 10Hz) for 4 weeks 1 session per week additional
to conventional treatment. Group B received ultrasound ketoprofen phonophoresis continuous mode, base
frequency of 1MHz, power 2 w/cm2, applied for three minutes to each location, and conventional treatment
for 4 weeks 3 sessions per week. Group C control group received traditional treatment only (night splint + foot
orthosis + calf muscle /plantar fascia stretch). Pain intensity by VAS, Ultrasonography-assessed plantar fascia
thickness, and lower extremity functional scale were evaluated at baseline, one month after the intervention
ended, and six months later.
Results: Patients from both groups significantly improved on all assessed variables. Compared to the
phonophoresis group, the shock wave group significantly improved on measures of pain, plantar fascia
thickness, and lower limb functional scale.
Conclusion: from the results Group A (RSWT) and Group B (phonophoresis) exhibited more significant
improvements in all variables compared to Group C (splint) in the enhancement of pain reduction, plantar fascia
thickness as well as the improvement of lower extremity functional scale at the short-term follow-up one month
(4 weeks) and long-term follow-up six months in the management of patients suffering from chronic plantar
fasciitis. However, the shockwave group's progress was significantly more noticeable than the phonophoresis
group's (p<0.0001).