Effect of Stretching Exercise in Chronic Plantar Fasciitis Patients: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

Plantar fasciitis is a common problem in both sedentary and athletic population. The patients have developed chronic heel pain that worsen with continued walking, and follow by limitation in activities of daily life. A quasi-experimental study was performed to assess the effect of plantar fascia stretching on chronic plantar fasciitis, 24 cases of plantar fasciitis (32 feet), mean age 45.79,SD 5.99 years, mean BMI 27.48, SD 6.52 kg/m², were recruited into the study. The specific plantarfascia stretching exercise was instructed to all subjects. The program consisted of daily stretchingexercise, 2-3 sessions per day, for 2 wks. The Visual Analogue Scale was used to assess pain severity and compare between before vs. after the program. Level of patient’s satisfaction was also evaluated. Twenty-one of 24 patients (87.5%) had improvement in heel pain. The average pain score before treatment was 54, SD 17.54, after treatment was 29.44, SD 15.87. The mean pain score difference was -24.56, SD 17.15. There was statistics significant in pain reduction after treatment at p< 0.001. Plantar fascia stretching can reduce pain in chronic plantar fasciitis. It is safe and economic for the patients to adopt the procedurc as part of a home self-care program.