Comparison of laser versus ultrasound therapy in management of chronic plantar fasciitis

Abstract

The most common cause of heel pain is “plantar fasciitis” which is accountable for 80% of the cases. There are limitations in its treatment availability. The non-surgical treatments although have shown promising response and satisfactory outcomes. Such two treatments viz. laser and ultrasound therapy were studied and compared in plantar fasciitis patients. In the present study 100 plantar fasciitis patients recruited and divided into two groups with 50 patients each, one group was treated with laser therapy and the other with ultrasound therapy. The outcomes were reported in the form of Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Foot Function Index (FFI) scores. There was a promising improvement noted in VAS score and FFI score when compared within the groups. The comparison of these scores between the groups revealed laser therapy to be more effective in reducing the symptoms than the ultrasound therapy, as the VAS and FFI scores were significantly improved in laser therapy group compared to ultrasound therapy. So here we conclude the laser therapy is more effective in relieving from the symptoms of plantar fasciitis as compared to ultrasound therapy.