Research Article
The effects of Foot Orthoses on Pain Management of People with Plantar Fasciitis
Alireza Taheri1, Fahimeh Sadat Jafarian1, Ebrahim Sadeghi-Demneh2 and Forood Bahmani3 | |
1Prosthetics and Orthotics Department, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran | |
2Musculoskeletal Research center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran | |
3School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran | |
Corresponding Author : | Sadeghi-Demneh E Musculoskeletal Research center Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran Tel: +98 311 792 2021 Fax: +98 311 668 7270 E-mail: sadeghi@rehab.mui.ac.ir |
Received: August 06, 2015 Accepted: September 23, 2015 Published: September 26, 2015 | |
Citation: Taheri A, Jafarian FS, Sadeghi-Demneh E, Bahmani F (2015) The effects of Foot Orthoses on Pain Management of People with Plantar Fasciitis. Clin Res Foot Ankle 3:174. doi:10.4172/2329- 910X.1000174 | |
Copyright: © 2015 Taheri A, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. | |
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Abstract
Introduction: Plantar fasciitis is the most common cause of plantar heel pain, accounting for almost 15% of all foot-related complaints. Arch supports and heel pads are the main foot orthotics to manage the heel pain. Despite the high prevalence of plantar fasciitis, information about the effectiveness of different orthoses is still scarce. This study was aimed to compare the effectiveness of using an arch support and a silicone heel pad in the pain management of people with plantar fasciitis.
Methods: Forty subjects (mean ± SD age; 44.46 ± 9.7 years) with unilateral plantar fasciitis were recruited in this randomized clinical trial study. They randomly and equally allocated to the intervention groups (the soft arch support insole and silicone heel pad). The primary outcomes were pain and foot function. Outcomes were measured while participants were administrated prior to receiving the allocated intervention and after 6-week follow up period. In the admission and follow-up sessions, the heel pain was scored via visual analogue scale (VAS) and the foot function were measured by foot and ankle outcome score (FAOS) questionnaire. Data were analysed by Mann-Whitney test.
Results: Foot orthoses significantly improved the foot function, reduce the heel pain (p<0.001). There was no significant difference between two orthoses in pain relief (p=0.094). The results indicated that both silicone heel pad and soft insole had successful outcomes in the management of plantar fasciitis over a 6-week period.
Conclusion: The silicone heel pad and the soft insole with arch support are effective to reduce heel pain and improve the activity level in people with plantar fasciitis.