Efficacy of a Self-managed Versus a Predetermined Resistance Training Protocol in Reducing Pain in Individuals With Plantar Fasciopathy

May 22, 2018 updated by: Henrik Riel, Aalborg University

The Efficacy of a Self-managed Resistance Training Protocol Versus a Predetermined Resistance Training Protocol in Reducing Pain in Individuals With Plantar Fasciopathy During a 12-week Intervention: a Randomised Controlled Superiority Trial

The purpose of this trial is to investigate whether a self-managed resistance training protocol is more effective than a predetermined resistance training protocol in improving the Foot Health Status Questionnaire pain domain score in individuals with plantar fasciopathy after a 12-week intervention.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

This trial will be designed as a randomised, participant-blinded, superiority trial, with a 2-group parallel design to be conducted in Denmark. Reporting of the trial will follow CONSORT guidelines for reporting non-pharmacologic treatments and TIDieR for intervention description. Reporting of the protocol will follow the SPIRIT statement. The planning of the trial was done in accordance with the PREPARE Trial guide (25).

In addition to the exercises, both groups receive patient education on their condition. They will be informed about what is known about the condition in terms of risk factors and aetiology, the pathology, activity modification, and the rationale for why their specific exercise programme (self-managed or predetermined) could lead to recovery. The participants of the predetermined group will be informed that this specific exercise and exercise programme has been found to be superior to stretching but it is important to follow the protocol as closely as possible. The participants of the self-managed group will be informed that this specific exercise has been found to be superior to stretching but based on previous research of other tendinopathies we believe that doing the exercise as heavy as possible but not heavier than 8RM and with as many sets as possible will increase the odds of recovery. Both groups are told that compliance to their protocol is very important and that compliance to the exercises are associated with their recovery. They are also informed about other types of evidence-based treatments however, they are asked to refrain from seeking other treatments during the course of the study. A silicone heel cup will be given to all participants. If the participant already uses an insole or any other type of foot orthosis they will be allowed to continue wearing this if they do not want to use the heel cup.

All statistical analyses will be performed according to a pre-established analysis plan in consultation with a statistician. STATA ver. 14 will be used as statistical software. The primary intention-to-treat analysis will test the between-group difference in the FHSQ pain domain at the 12-week follow-up. In addition to this, between-group comparisons of the other FHSQ domains, PSEQ, IPAQ, and plantar fascia thickness will be performed using a repeated measures ANCOVA with the outcome as the dependent variable, time (baseline, 4 weeks and 12 weeks) as the within-subjects factor, group allocation as the between-subjects factor and the baseline value as the covariate. If any interactions are found, post hoc Bonferroni adjustments for multiple comparisons will be made. The between-group difference in time to PASS among participants who report PASS, and the number of training sessions performed during the trial using independent t-tests. The relative risk (RR) will be calculated for the dichotomized GROC to determine the probability of being improved and for the dichotomized PASS (Yes/No) to determine the probability of achieving a satisfactory result within the 12 weeks of intervention. The difference in mean training sessions performed per week from before to after PASS among participants who report PASS no later than during week 11 of the intervention will be investigated using a paired t-test. The number needed to treat will be calculated as 1/risk difference for the primary outcome. The association between the PSEQ score and compliance will be investigated using Pearson's correlation coefficient.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
70

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Denmark
    • Northern Jutland
      • Aalborg, Northern Jutland, Denmark, 9220
        • Research unit for general practice

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • History of inferior heel pain for at least three months before enrolment
  • Pain on palpation of the medial calcaneal tubercle or the proximal plantar fascia
  • Thickness of the plantar fascia of 4.0 mm or greater
  • Mean heel pain of ≥ 20 mm on a 100 mm VAS [0mm = no pain, 100mm = worst pain imaginable] during the past week

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Below 18 years of age
  • History of inflammatory systemic diseases
  • Pain or stiffness in the 1st metatarsophalangeal joint to an extent where the exercises cannot be performed
  • Prior heel surgery
  • Pregnancy
  • Pain medication
  • Corticosteroid injection for plantar fasciopathy within the past six months

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Self-managed protocol
Other: Self-managed protocol

Participants will be asked to complete a heel raise standing with the forefoot on a step. The toes are maximally dorsi flexed by placing a towel underneath them. The participant is instructed to perform a heel raise to maximal plantar flexion in the ankle joint and afterwards to lower the heel to maximal dorsiflexion. Supporting oneself for balance by placing the hands on a wall or a rail is allowed.

The participants in the self-managed group are instructed in performing the exercise with a load as heavy as possible but no higher than 8RM and for as many sets as possible every other day.
Active Comparator: Predetermined protocol
Other: Predetermined protocol

Participants will be asked to complete a heel raise standing with the forefoot on a step. The toes are maximally dorsi flexed by placing a towel underneath them. The participant is instructed to perform a heel raise to maximal plantar flexion in the ankle joint and afterwards to lower the heel to maximal dorsiflexion. Supporting oneself for balance by placing the hands on a wall or a rail is allowed.

The participants in the predetermined group are instructed in performing the exercise at a 12RM for three sets during week 1 and 2, at a 10RM for four sets during week 3 and 4, and at an 8RM for five sets from week 5 and onwards.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Foot Health Status Questionnaire pain domain
Time Frame: At baseline and at the 4- and 12-week follow-ups.
The Foot Health Status Questionnaire is a self-report questionnaire ranging from 0 (poor foot health) to 100 (optimum foot health) that assesses multiple dimensions of foot health and function. A Danish translation of the original questionnaire will be used. The translation was made using a dual panel approach.
At baseline and at the 4- and 12-week follow-ups.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Foot Health Status Questionnaire function domain
Time Frame: At baseline and at the 4- and 12-week follow-ups.
Ranging from 0 (poor foot health) to 100 (optimum foot health)
At baseline and at the 4- and 12-week follow-ups.
Change in Foot Health Status Questionnaire footwear domain
Time Frame: At baseline and at the 4- and 12-week follow-ups.
Ranging from 0 (poor foot health) to 100 (optimum foot health)
At baseline and at the 4- and 12-week follow-ups.
Change in Foot Health Status Questionnaire general foot health domain
Time Frame: At baseline and at the 4- and 12-week follow-ups.
Ranging from 0 (poor foot health) to 100 (optimum foot health)
At baseline and at the 4- and 12-week follow-ups.
Global Rating of Change
Time Frame: At the 12-week follow-up.
This will be used to measure the participants' self-reported recovery on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from "much improved" to "much worse". Participants are categorised as improved if they rate themselves as "much improved" or "improved" (category 6-7) and categorised as not improved if they rate themselves from "slightly improved" to "much worse" (category 1-5).
At the 12-week follow-up.
Change in plantar fascia thickness
Time Frame: At baseline and at the 4- and 12-week follow-ups.
Measured in millimeters using ultrasonography
At baseline and at the 4- and 12-week follow-ups.
Time to Patient Acceptable Symptom State
Time Frame: From 0 to 12 weeks.
This will be used as a measure of when the participant achieves a self-reported satisfactory result and is therefore not necessarily a measure of complete recovery. After the participant has reported PASS he or she is still instructed to continue performing the exercise as prescribed.
From 0 to 12 weeks.
Change in Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire score
Time Frame: At baseline and at the 4- and 12-week follow-ups.
The Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire ranges from 0 (not at all confident) to 60 (completely confident) with lower scores indicating lower self-efficacy. A Danish translation of the original questionnaire, which has been validated in a Danish chronic pain population, will be used.
At baseline and at the 4- and 12-week follow-ups.
Change in physical activity level
Time Frame: At baseline and at the 4- and 12-week follow-ups.
This will be measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire short form (IPAQ). A Danish translation of the original questionnaire will be used. The IPAQ is the most commonly used questionnaire for measuring physical activity among adults and consists of 9 items that provide information on the time spent performing vigorous and moderate activities, the time spent walking, and time spent sedentary during the past week. The IPAQ gives an estimate of the total weekly physical activity measured in MET-minutes per week and total minutes spent sitting
At baseline and at the 4- and 12-week follow-ups.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Aalborg University

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Henrik Riel, M.Sc., Research Unit for General Practice in Aalborg, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
October 12, 2017

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
May 17, 2018

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
May 17, 2018

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 4, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 4, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
October 9, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 23, 2018

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 22, 2018

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
May 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • N-20170051

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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