Ab. No. 137 Comparison of Effects of High Intensity Laser Therapy, Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy and Ultrasound Therapy in Patients With Plantar Fasciitis: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Introduction: Ultrasound therapy (UST) is one of the common modality available for treatment of Plantar fasciitis (PF). Recent technological advancements have let to development of new modalities like High Intensity LASER therapy (HILT) & Extracorporeal Shockwave therapy (ESWT) for treatment of PF. There is a lack of evidence as to suggest which modality is superior in the treatment of PF. Hence the purpose of the study was to observe the effect of HILT, ESWT & UST on pain and function in patients with PF. Methods: Total of 120 participants fulfilling the inclusion/exclusion criteria were recruited after obtaining the informed consent & were randomly assigned to 3 study-groups of 40 each and allocation was done using sealed envelope. Assigned treatment modality as per the prescribed dosage along with the exercise programme was given for period of 2 weeks. Outcome measures - Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Pain perception threshold (PPT) & Foot function index (FFI) were taken prior to & after completion of treatment. Results: While comparing VAS, PPT & FFI values of all 3 groups using one-way ANOVA, between group analysis showed statistically significant difference among the groups for VAS (F (2:105)4.444, p:0.0140) & PPT (F (2:105)5.651, p:0.0047) & not for FFI. Post -hoc analysis data revealed statistically significant difference for UST in PPT (p<0.005) than HILT & ESWT. & for UST in VAS than HILT. Within the group analysis showed, statistically significant improvement in all 3 groups. Conclusion: All three modalities are effective in reducing pain & improving function in patients with PF. UST seems to be better in reducing pain but in improving function none of the modality was found to be superior than other. Implication: UST can be preferred modality in alleviating the pain in patients with PF as its easily available and cost effective over the new expensive modalities.