Comparative study of treatment of chronic plantar fasciitis using platelet rich plasma and local steroid injection

Abstract

Introduction: It is one of the most common tendinopathy and most common cause of pain in the bottom of heel most cases resolve with time and conservative treatment. Local steroids injection has been one of the treatment modality from many years for patients not responding to oral medications and stretching exercises. One of recent advance in treatment of tendinopathies is use of platelet rich plasma (PRP) having the advantage of being autologous and concentrated that are rich in growth factors. In this study we have compared the efficacy of local steroid and PRP in treatment of plantar fascitis. Materials and Methods: Study was conducted in Kamareddy Hospital Gulbarga in the period between January 2018 and January 2019. The age of patients in our study was 20 to 50 years. In this study, 3 ml of the extracted PRP or 40 mg of triamcinolone acetate was injected into the heel area. Post-intervention, pain and functional assessment were done at 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months and 6 months with Visual Analogue Score and Ankle Hind Foot scale and Foot and Ankle Disability Index score. Results: The mean age in the steroid group was 37 and in the PRP group was 36, Right side was most commonly involved 55%. In both the groups there was significant difference in the VAS scores p In both the groups there was significant difference p Interpretation & Conclusion: PRP reduces pain for longer duration as compared to steroid but the difference is not statistically significant. Disadvantages with PRP are cost and cumbersome procedure to make it. Most Patients preffered steroid over PRP due to cost. Keywords: Platelet rich plasma (PRP), Foot and ankle disability index (FADI).