%0 Journal Article
%T Ultrasound-guided procedures for plantar fasciitis: a randomized clinical study.
%A Montes-Salas R
%A Mahillo-Durán R
%A Gómez-Carrión Á
%A Gómez-Aguilar E
%A Fernández-Gibello A
%A Castillo-Lopez JM
%J J Orthop Surg Res
%V 19
%N 1
%D 2024 Jul 26
%M 39060929
%F 2.677
%R 10.1186/s13018-024-04946-y
%X <B>BACKGROUND: </B>Corticosteroid injections are commonly used for the treatment of plantar fasciitis. In recent years, ultrasound-guided multipuncture treatment of the fascia has been described in the literature. Our study aimed to compare the effectiveness of these two techniques in the treatment of plantar fasciitis.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>The outcomes achieved over 120 days following the use of these techniques to treat plantar fasciitis were examined. A total of 81 patients were randomly selected for the study; 41 were treated with ultrasound-guided multipuncture and 40 with ultrasound-guided corticosteroid injection. Clinical examinations and ultrasound assessments were performed before treatment and at 30, 60 and 120 days post-treatment. Clinical assessments included the use of a visual analog scale (VAS) to record pain and the Foot Function Index (FFI) to evaluate function. Ultrasound was used to measure the thickness of the plantar fascia.<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>Both the ultrasound-guided multipuncture and corticosteroid injection techniques were associated with significant functional and echographic improvements at 4 months post-treatment (P < 0.001). Pain did not improve significantly after 120 days with ultrasound-guided corticosteroid injection, whereas significant pain reduction was observed with ultrasound-guided multipuncture.<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>Corticosteroid injection provides better short-term results in terms of VAS pain and FFI scores. However, ultrasound-guided multipuncture shows superior outcomes in VAS pain and FFI scores at 120 days.