Shock Wave Therapy Effectiveness in Treating Patients with Heel Pain: A Randomized Control Trial

Shockwave therapy is increasingly used for plantar fasciitis, but limited evidence supports its use. In spite of plantar heel pain being so common in the population, a growing body of evidence indicates that various methods and modalities applied by physiotherapists to relieve the symptoms of plantar heel pain lack quality validating research and is, therefore, not evidence-based. The purposes of this study are to determine the clinical effectiveness of shock wave in the treatment of chronic patient with plantar heel pain in term of pain intensity and function level, to measure any changes in pain level before and immediately after the treatment and to compare the effectiveness of shock wave therapy with other regular modalities in physiotherapy. A randomized controlled trial with 90 patients with plantar heel pain were selected from the general public in the same order that they presented in the Physiotherapy Department at Ahmed Ali Kanoo Health Center.