Abstract
BackgroundImaging methods for the plantar fascia have included radiography, ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), all of which have provided valuable information. This study assessed the reliability of ultrasonography examinations of the plantar fascia using a comparative study.MethodsFifty healthy adult volunteers (25 males and 25 females, mean age 31.6 ± 3.5 years) were included in this study. Images of the plantar fascia from 100 ft were acquired with ultrasonography, CT and MRI. Ultrasound was used to measure the thickness of the plantar fascia. Imaging data from CT and MRI in a DICOM format were transformed into the Materialise Mimics Innovation Suite 16.0 software for digital analysis. SPSS software (SPSS, USA) was used for statistical analysis. The reliability was established by a t-test. Moreover, 42 patients with unilateral plantar fasciitis were examined by ultrasonography.ResultsThere were no significant differences between the three imaging modalities for patients of the same sex (P > 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences between the left and right sides for patients of the same sex (P > 0.05), but the difference between males and females was statistically significant (P < 0.01). There were no significant differences between US, CT and MRI in the normal group, but there were significant differences in the plantar fasciitis group evaluated with ultrasound. The plantar fascii of normal male subjects are significantly thicker than those of the normal female.ConclusionUltrasonography can be a relatively simple and reliable method for the measurement of plantar fascia thickness.
Highlights
Imaging methods for the plantar fascia have included radiography, ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), all of which have provided valuable information
In the three normal groups, there were no significant differences when the thickness of the plantar fascia was measured for patients of the same sex (P > 0.05)
There were no significant differences between the three groups when the measurements acquired from similar positions of the
Summary
Imaging methods for the plantar fascia have included radiography, ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), all of which have provided valuable information. The plantar fascia is part of the fascia of the foot; the plantar fascia starts from the calcaneal tubercle, has a triangular shape and extends towards the metatarsal bones. One of the important roles of the plantar fascia is to maintain the arch of the foot. The plantar fascia is a major arch support structure of the feet; the plantar fascia is a fibrous tendon that maintains the longitudinal arch of the foot and starts at the calcaneal tubercle and ends at the metatarsals [11]. The load on the plantar fascia exceeds its capacity, which results in a degenerative change or plantar fascia injury that causes inflammatory pain [12,13,14]. The study of the plantar fascia is very important for the diagnosis and mechanical analysis of plantar fasciitis
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