Abstract
BackgroundPlantar heel pain (plantar fasciitis) is a common and disabling condition, which has a detrimental impact on health-related quality of life. Despite the high prevalence of plantar heel pain, the optimal treatment for this disorder remains unclear. Consequently, an alternative therapy such as dry needling is increasingly being used as an adjunctive treatment by health practitioners. Only two trials have investigated the effectiveness of dry needling for plantar heel pain, however both trials were of a low methodological quality. This manuscript describes the design of a randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of dry needling for plantar heel pain.MethodsEighty community-dwelling men and woman aged over 18 years with plantar heel pain (who satisfy the inclusion and exclusion criteria) will be recruited. Eligible participants with plantar heel pain will be randomised to receive either one of two interventions, (i) real dry needling or (ii) sham dry needling. The protocol (including needling details and treatment regimen) was formulated by general consensus (using the Delphi research method) using 30 experts worldwide that commonly use dry needling for plantar heel pain. Primary outcome measures will be the pain subscale of the Foot Health Status Questionnaire and "first step" pain as measured on a visual analogue scale. The secondary outcome measures will be health related quality of life (assessed using the Short Form-36 questionnaire - Version Two) and depression, anxiety and stress (assessed using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale - short version). Primary outcome measures will be performed at baseline, 2, 4, 6 and 12 weeks and secondary outcome measures will be performed at baseline, 6 and 12 weeks. Data will be analysed using the intention to treat principle.ConclusionThis study is the first randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of dry needling for plantar heel pain. The trial will be reported in accordance with the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials and the Standards for Reporting Interventions in Clinical Trials of Acupuncture guidelines. The findings from this trial will provide evidence for the effectiveness of trigger point dry needling for plantar heel pain.Trial registrationAustralian New Zealand 'Clinical Trials Registry'. ACTRN12610000611022.
Highlights
Plantar heel pain is a common and disabling condition, which has a detrimental impact on health-related quality of life
A recent case control study found that individuals with chronic plantar heel pain are severely limited in their ability to undertake physical activities and lack the energy to undertake daily tasks, have a poor perception of their health status and experience social isolation [7]
The trial will be reported in line with the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) [23] and the Standards for Reporting Interventions in Clinical Trials of Acupuncture (STRICTA) [24] group statements
Summary
Plantar heel pain (plantar fasciitis) is a common and disabling condition, which has a detrimental impact on health-related quality of life. Two trials have investigated the effectiveness of dry needling for plantar heel pain, both trials were of a low methodological quality. Plantar heel pain (plantar fasciitis) is one of the most common musculoskeletal pathologies of the foot. Plantar heel pain affects older adults it is common in the athletic population, being estimated to contribute to 25% of all foot injuries related to running [6]. Plantar heel pain has been shown to have an impact on health-related quality of life. A recent case control study found that individuals with chronic plantar heel pain are severely limited in their ability to undertake physical activities and lack the energy to undertake daily tasks, have a poor perception of their health status and experience social isolation [7]
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