Plantar Fascia Release combined with Calcaneal Decompression may improve resistant heel pain

Written By : Dr Supreeth D R |Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2022-05-17T20:30:55+05:30 | Updated On 17 May 2022 8:25 PM IST

Istanbul, Turkey:

K. Karaytug et al. compared isolated percutaneous plantar fascia release by using a needle versus percutaneous plantar fascia release combined with calcaneal decompression in treatment of the patients with resistant heel pain.

The authors reviewed the prospectively recorded data of patients who treated and follow-up for resistant heel pain (treated more than 6 months with other treatment modalities) with a minimum 1-year follow-up.

Calcaneal drilling was performed under general or spinal anesthesia with the patient placed in the lateral decubitus position. Calcaneal decompression was performed percutaneously using a Kirschner wire under fluoroscopy with 3 to 6 drill holes in the inferior cortex.

Twenty patients were treated with plantar fascia release using a needle (group 1) and 21 patients were treated with a similar percutaneous release combined with calcaneal decompression (group 2). Functional outcomes were evaluated using visual analog scale (VAS) and Foot Function Index (FFI) pre- and postoperatively.

No significant differences were observed between both groups in terms of age (44.3 years in group 1 vs 46.8 years in group 2), gender (18 females and 2 males in group 1 vs 19 females and 3 males in group 2), body mass index (25.1 in group 1 vs 26.3 in group 2), and follow-up (14.6 months in group 1 vs 15.7 months in group 2).

The decrease in postoperative FFI (Foot Function Index) and VAS (Visual Analogue Scale) scores compared with preoperative VAS scores was statistically significant in both groups. However, improvement of FFI and VAS score was significantly higher in group 2 than group 1.

Although both methods are very effective in the treatment of persistent heel pain, the group 2 has a better improvement in functional scores than group 1 with a mean 15 months following the procedure.

The authors concluded that - percutaneous release of the plantar fascia in persistent heel pain enables patients to achieve satisfactory functional results. Calcaneal drilling is an effective method to increase the success rate and carries a low risk of complication. Although both methods are very effective in the treatment of persistent heel pain, the group 2 had a better improvement in functional scores than the group 1 within 15 months following surgery.

MBBS, Dip. Ortho, DNB ortho, MNAMS

Dr Supreeth D R (MBBS, Dip. Ortho, DNB ortho, MNAMS) is a practicing orthopedician with interest in medical research and publishing articles. He completed MBBS from mysore medical college, dip ortho from Trivandrum medical college and sec. DNB from Manipal Hospital, Bengaluru. He has expirence of 7years in the field of orthopedics. He has presented scientific papers & posters in various state, national and international conferences. His interest in writing articles lead the way to join medical dialogues. He can be contacted at editorial@medicaldialogues.in.

Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751