Authors (including presenting author) :
Lu JY(1), Cheung KYN(1), Lau MKK(1), Ling JWY(1), Leung YK(1), Chao CYL(2), Leung CYY(1)(2)
Affiliation :
(1) Physiotherapy Department, North Lantau Hospital (2) Physiotherapy Department, Princess Margaret Hospital
Keyword 2: :
Plantar Fasciitis
Introduction :
Plantar fasciitis is a condition that there is overpressure putting on the plantar fascia and make it inflamed. It could lead to foot pain or disabilities for years and eventually affect the quality of life of patients. Local corticosteroid injection can be used but may cause adverse effects and not recommended as first-line treatment. Acupuncture is one of popular treatments proven to be effective on managing several musculoskeletal conditions such as tennis elbow and De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis. It is a kind of convenient modality which requires needles only and the cost is low. Therefore, it is worth to explore the effectiveness of acupuncture on treating plantar fasciitis.
Objectives :
To examine the effectiveness of electroacupuncture for reducing pain in people with plantar fasciitis.
Methodology :
Patients diagnosed with plantar fasciitis and referred for physiotherapy outpatient training at North Lantau Hospital were recruited in this pilot study. Three acupuncture points at Shuiquan (KI 5), Chengshan (BL 57) and Ashi point on the affected heel were selected according to patients’ condition. KI 5 and Ashi point were electrically stimulated through the needles in continuous mode with frequency 20Hz and pulse width 150µs for 30 minutes using ITO® ES-160 device. Patients were discharged until there was no significant heel pain or the progression was static. The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and the Numeric Global Rating of Change Scale (NGRCS) for measuring overall improvement were recorded in the first and last session.
Result & Outcome :
Seven female patients with plantar fasciitis, aged 45.1 ± 8.3 years (range 34 to 58 years), were recruited. The average number of electroacupuncture sessions delivered were 5.7 ± 2.3 (range 4 to 9 treatment sessions) for obtaining satisfactory pain reduction effect. On average, the VAS score reduced from 6.1 ± 1.6 to 2.1 ± 0.9 (p=0.016) upon completion of the treatment protocol. The NGRCS was 75.7 ± 14.0%, indicating a clinically meaningful satisfactory overall improvement. The preliminary findings supported the use of electroacupuncture in managing people with plantar fasciitis for pain modulation. Further study with larger sample size and control group is warrant to examine the long-term effects on recurrence and overall functional improvement.
