ASSESSMENT OF THE LEVEL OF PAIN IN THE TREATMENT OF PLANTAR FASCIITIS BY EXTRACORPOREAL SHOCK WAVE THERAPY

Abstract

Background. Heel discomfort is caused by plantar fasciitis in both active and sedentary people of all ages. Obese people and people who spend most of their time on their feet are more susceptible to this disease. Most of the interventions used to treat plantar fasciitis have not been adequately studied. Purpose: to prove the effectiveness of the impact of shock wave therapy and stretching of the calf muscles on plantar fasciitis. Methods. Extracorporeal shock wave therapy as the sole treatment and in combination with calf stretching exercises on a stair treadmill; assessment of the level of pain according to the VAS and AOFAS scales, the method of statistical analysis. Results. Statistically significant differences in the assessments of the level of pain according to the VAS and AOFAS scales were obtained in the treatment of heel pain in plantar fasciitis. At the same time, pain assessment on the AOFAS scale reflected a statistically significantly more pronounced effect of treatment when combined with extracorporeal shock wave therapy in combination with a set of exercises for stretching the calf muscles. Conclusion. Extracorporeal shock wave therapy can be effectively used for chronic pain localized in the calcaneus and caused by plantar fasciitis. The greatest effect is observed in patients receiving ESWT and exercises for stretching the calf muscles in the complex.