Efficacy of Dry Needling in Plantar Fasciitis

The plantar fasciitis (PF) is the most common cause of pain on the underside of the heel. About 10% to 20% of the population suffer once during their lifetime. PF concept began to describe at the end of XX century through the discovery of new clinical and histopathological signs of the plantar fascia. The difficulty of diagnosis, understanding and treatment of PF require us to develop new treatment avenues to improve the approach and the understanding of it. Dry needling (DN) as a treatment of myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) and myofascial trigger points (MTP) of muscle associated with the pathology, it may be a good treatment strategy, as demonstrated in the treatment of MPS in other body regions such as the neck, shoulder or the lumbar spine.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Fasciitis, Plantar
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Physical therapy modalities; Device: Invasive Physical therapy modalities

Detailed Description

Hypothesis:

Add dry needling to a physiotherapy intervention, increases the efficacy of treatment for plantar fasciosis.

Objectives:

General:

Test the efficacy of DN in addition to physiotherapy treatment includes: manual therapy and home exercises; directed to normalize muscle tone and inhibit MTP of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles, in a group of patients who have been diagnosed with PF.

The variables to measure the efficacy are:

Pain assessment in the affected heel, by visual analog scale (VAS). Ultrasonographic assessment of the thickness of the plantar fascia affected, in longitudinal view, compared with the contralateral.

Goniometric assessment of joint range of ankle dorsiflexion, compared with the contralateral.

Specific:

Analyze the efficacy of the combination of DN treatment with manual therapy and home exercise, in patients who have been diagnosed with PF through monitoring and comparison between groups.

Methodology:

Type of study: clinical trial.

Sample:

It has been used sample size calculator GRANMO version 7.12, and accepting an alpha risk of 0.05 and a beta risk of 0.2, 15 subjects were required in the first group and 15 in the second to detect a difference equal to or greater than 0.6 units. It is assumed that the common standard deviation is 0.57. It has been estimated loss rate of 0%.

population: patients with a confirmed diagnosis of PF, who agree to participate in the study after signing the informed consent and carry out the selection criteria.

Sample:

It has been used sample size calculator GRANMO version 7.12, and accepting an alpha risk of 0.05 and a beta risk of 0.2, 15 subjects were required in the first group and 15 in the second to detect a difference equal to or greater than 0.6 units. It is assumed that the common standard deviation is 0.57. It has been estimated loss rate of 0%.

Selection criteria:

Ultrasonographic study in which a proximal thickened affected plantar fascia is observed greater than or equal to 4 mm.

Pain fell to the first steps in the morning. Pain with palpation at the insertion of the medial calcaneal tubercle, above 5, in a 10-point VAS.

Pathology time evolution of greater than or equal to 4 weeks. Age of patients over 18 years. Acceptance by the patient to participate in the study, having signed the informed consent.

Absence of neoplastic disease. Absence of neurological, sensory, orthopedic and / or surgical alterations. The patient is already doing treatment of physical medicine and rehabilitation. Be subjected to antiplatelet drug therapy. Fear of needles (needle phobia). Difficulty for the patient to understand the instructions to be followed during the study.

Methods of collecting information:

Personal data for each patient and relevant to the study, collected in a protocolized questionnaire, as well as an Excel sheet. All this in a personal history, encoded according to a table of alphanumeric equivalents, allowing subsequent statistical analysis with SPSS19.0 program.

Statistical method:

Initially, a descriptive statistical analysis will be conducted: qualitative variables were summarized by frequency distribution and quantitative by its average and standard deviation. Also it summarizes the information graphically using box plots, bar charts and pie charts.

Furthermore an inferential analysis using parametric or non-parametric techniques, particularly for the main objective analysis of variance was used in two groups (assuming a normal distribution for the variable response) U test or Mann-Whitney will be made in the case lack of normal. To study the response variables in each test group the Student t test or unimuestral averages Wilcoxon signed ranks for related samples was used.

For the analysis of qualitative variables the test of Chi-square test and the association between quantitative variables will be analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficients and Spearman.

To test these significant differences in values of p <0.05 was assumed. Statistical analysis was performed using the statistical software SPSS v19.0

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 30
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Spain
  • Madrid, Spain, 28040
    • Clínica Universitaria de podología de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 14 years to 76 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Ultrasonographic study in which a proximal thickened affected plantar fascia is observed -greater than or equal to 4 mm.
• Pain fell to the first steps in the morning.
• Pain with palpation at the insertion of the medial calcaneal tubercle, above 5, in a 10-point VAS.
• Pathology time evolution of greater than or equal to 4 weeks.
• Age of patients over 18 years.
• Acceptance by the patient to participate in the study, having signed the informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Presence of neoplastic disease.
• Presence of neurological, sensory, orthopedic and / or surgical alterations.
• The patient is already doing treatment of physical medicine and rehabilitation.
• Be subjected to antiplatelet drug therapy.
• Fear of needles (needle phobia).
• Difficulty for the patient to understand the instructions to be followed during the study.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Physical therapy modalities; Manual therapy techniques aimed to relaxed gastrocnemius and soleus muscles tone, movilizations, stretching and home exercises.	Other: Physical therapy modalities; Massage, movilization of ankle dorsiflexion and improve flexibility with stretching of calf muscles.
Experimental: Invasive Physical therapy modalities; Manual therapy techniques aimed to relaxed gastrocnemius and soleus muscles tone, movilizations, stretching and home exercises. Previously, DN will be applied in gastrocnemius and soleus muscles.	Other: Physical therapy modalities; Massage, movilization of ankle dorsiflexion and improve flexibility with stretching of calf muscles.; Device: Invasive Physical therapy modalities; Dry needling added to massage, movilization of ankle dorsiflexion and improve flexibility with stretching of calf muscles.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Ultrasonographic Evaluation of the Thickness of the Affected Plantar Fascia, in Longitudinal View.	Plantar fascia thickness in millimeters with ultrasonography at 0,5 centimeters from the calcaneo bone. Mean of 3 measures was taken.	1 day.
Ultrasonographic Evaluation of the Thickness of the Affected Plantar Fascia, in Longitudinal View.	Plantar fascia thickness in millimeters with ultrasonography at 0,5 centimeters from the calcaneo bone. Mean of 3 measures was taken.	1 month
Ultrasonographic Evaluation of the Thickness of the Affected Plantar Fascia, in Longitudinal View.	Plantar fascia thickness in millimeters with ultrasonography at 0,5 centimeters from the calcaneo bone. Mean of 3 measures was taken.	3 month
Ultrasonographic Evaluation of the Thickness of the Affected Plantar Fascia, in Longitudinal View.	Plantar fascia thickness in millimeters with ultrasonography at 0,5 centimeters from the calcaneo bone. Mean of 3 measures was taken.	6 month

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Pain Assessment in the Affected Heel, by Visual Analog Scale.	First step pain measured by Visual Analogue Scale, from 0 to 10 points, in the affected heel. In the Visual Analogue Scale, 0 represents the lowest score and 10 represents the highest score when the patient felt the maximum level of pain.	1 day.
Pain Assessment in the Affected Heel, by Visual Analog Scale.	First step pain measured by Visual Analogue Scale, from 0 to 10 points, in the affected heel. In the Visual Analogue Scale, 0 represents the lowest score and 10 represents the highest score when the patient felt the maximum level of pain.	1 month
Pain Assessment in the Affected Heel, by Visual Analog Scale.	First step pain measured by Visual Analogue Scale, from 0 to 10 points, in the affected heel. In the Visual Analogue Scale, 0 represents the lowest score and 10 represents the highest score when the patient felt the maximum level of pain.	3 month
Pain Assessment in the Affected Heel, by Visual Analog Scale.	First step pain measured by Visual Analogue Scale, from 0 to 10 points, in the affected heel. In the Visual Analogue Scale, 0 represents the lowest score and 10 represents the highest score when the patient felt the maximum level of pain.	6 month
Pain Assessment in the Affected Heel After Long Periods of Rest, by Visual Analog Scale.	Pain after long periods of rest measured by Visual Analogue Scale, from 0 to 10 points, in the affected heel. In the Visual Analogue Scale, 0 represents the lowest score and 10 represents the highest score when the patient felt the maximum level of pain.	1 day
Pain Assessment in the Affected Heel After Long Periods of Rest, by Visual Analog Scale.	Pain after long periods of rest measured by Visual Analogue Scale, from 0 to 10 points, in the affected heel. In the Visual Analogue Scale, 0 represents the lowest score and 10 represents the highest score when the patient felt the maximum level of pain.	1 month
Pain Assessment in the Affected Heel After Long Periods of Rest, by Visual Analog Scale.	Pain after long periods of rest measured by Visual Analogue Scale, from 0 to 10 points, in the affected heel. In the Visual Analogue Scale, 0 represents the lowest score and 10 represents the highest score when the patient felt the maximum level of pain.	3 month
Pain Assessment in the Affected Heel After Long Periods of Rest, by Visual Analog Scale.	Pain after long periods of rest measured by Visual Analogue Scale, from 0 to 10 points, in the affected heel. In the Visual Analogue Scale, 0 represents the lowest score and 10 represents the highest score when the patient felt the maximum level of pain.	6 month
Goniometric Assessment of Joint Range of Motion Ankle Dorsiflexion With Knee Extended.	Range of motion of ankle dorsiflexion with knee extended measured in grades using a goniometer. There is not exist minimum and maximum scores for the goniometric assessment, because the limits of the range of motion depends on the joint mobility, then, for this measure, higher values are better results than lower values. Clinically, it means that one patient with 100 degrees of range of motion has more mobility than another with 90 degrees.	1 day
Goniometric Assessment of Joint Range of Motion Ankle Dorsiflexion With Knee Extended.	Range of motion of ankle dorsiflexion with knee extended measured in grades using a goniometer. There is not exist minimum and maximum scores for the goniometric assessment, because the limits of the range of motion depends on the joint mobility, then, for this measure, higher values are better results than lower values.Clinically, it means that one patient with 100 degrees of range of motion has more mobility than another with 90 degrees.	1 month
Goniometric Assessment of Joint Range of Motion Ankle Dorsiflexion With Knee Extened.	Range of motion of ankle dorsiflexion with knee extended measured in grades using a goniometer. There is not exist minimum and maximum scores for the goniometric assessment, because the limits of the range of motion depends on the joint mobility, then, for this measure, higher values are better results than lower values. Clinically, it means that one patient with 100 degrees of range of motion has more mobility than another with 90 degrees.	3 month
Goniometric Assessment of Joint Range of Motion Ankle Dorsiflexion With Knee Extended.	Range of motion of ankle dorsiflexion with knee extended measured in grades using a goniometer. There is not exist minimum and maximum scores for the goniometric assessment, because the limits of the range of motion depends on the joint mobility, then, for this measure, higher values are better results than lower values. Clinically, it means that one patient with 100 degrees of range of motion has more mobility than another with 90 degrees.	6 month
Goniometric Assessment of Joint Range of Motion Ankle Dorsiflexion With Knee Flexed.	Range of motion of ankle dorsiflexion with knee flexed 90º measured in grades using a goniometer. There is not exist minimum and maximum scores for the goniometric assessment, because the limits of the range of motion depends on the joint mobility, then, for this measure, higher values are better results than lower values. Clinically, it means that one patient with 100 degrees of range of motion has more mobility than another with 90 degrees.	1 day
Goniometric Assessment of Joint Range of Motion Ankle Dorsiflexion With Knee Flexed.	Range of motion of ankle dorsiflexion with knee flexed 90º measured in grades using a goniometer. There is not exist minimum and maximum scores for the goniometric assessment, because the limits of the range of motion depends on the joint mobility, then, for this measure, higher values are better results than lower values. Clinically, it means that one patient with 100 degrees of range of motion has more mobility than another with 90 degrees.	1 month
Goniometric Assessment of Joint Range of Motion Ankle Dorsiflexion With Knee Flexed.	Range of motion of ankle dorsiflexion with knee flexed 90º measured in grades using a goniometer. There is not exist minimum and maximum scores for the goniometric assessment, because the limits of the range of motion depends on the joint mobility, then, for this measure, higher values are better results than lower values. Clinically, it means that one patient with 100 degrees of range of motion has more mobility than another with 90 degrees.	3 month
Goniometric Assessment of Joint Range of Motion Ankle Dorsiflexion With Knee Flexed.	Range of motion of ankle dorsiflexion with knee flexed 90º measured in grades using a goniometer. There is not exist minimum and maximum scores for the goniometric assessment, because the limits of the range of motion depends on the joint mobility, then, for this measure, higher values are better results than lower values. Clinically, it means that one patient with 100 degrees of range of motion has more mobility than another with 90 degrees.	6 month

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Universidad Complutense de Madrid
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Suárez Miguel, Physician, Principal Investigator

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: May 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 1, 2016
• Study Completion (Actual): May 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 27, 2015
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 9, 2015
• First Posted (Estimate): June 10, 2015

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): September 9, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 25, 2020
• Last Verified: July 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: physiotherapy; dry needling; Fasciosis plantar; fascitis plantar
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Foot Diseases; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Fasciitis; Fasciitis, Plantar
• Other Study ID Numbers: Univ. Complutense de Madrid