Effect of Additional Sural Nerve PRF in Chronic Heel Pain

February 23, 2026 updated by: Damla Yürük, Diskapi Teaching and Research Hospital

Does Targeting the Sural Nerve in Addition to the Posterior Tibial Nerve Increase the Effectiveness of Pulsed Radiofrequency Treatment in Chronic Plantar Heel Pain?

This observational study aims to compare the effectiveness of pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) treatment applied to the posterior tibial nerve alone versus PRF applied to both the posterior tibial and sural nerves in patients with chronic plantar heel pain. Outcomes will be assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) hindfoot score at baseline, 1 month, and 3 months after treatment.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Chronic plantar heel pain is a common condition frequently managed with interventional pain procedures. In routine clinical practice, pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) is commonly applied to the posterior tibial nerve under ultrasound guidance. In selected patients, PRF is additionally applied to the sural nerve based on clinical judgment.

This observational study includes patients who have already undergone PRF treatment as part of standard care in the Algology Clinic. Patients will not be randomized, and no modification to treatment plans will be made for study purposes. Patients will be divided into two groups: those who received PRF to the posterior tibial nerve alone, and those who received PRF to both the posterior tibial and sural nerves. Pain intensity and functional outcomes will be retrospectively evaluated and compared between groups.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

48

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

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

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients aged 18 to 65 years with chronic plantar heel pain who underwent ultrasound-guided pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) treatment of the posterior tibial nerve, with or without additional PRF of the sural nerve, as part of routine clinical care in the Algology Clinic. Patients were included if they had a baseline Visual Analog Scale (VAS) pain score greater than 5. All treatments were completed prior to study enrollment, and no changes were made to clinical management for research purposes.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Age between 18 and 65 years

Presence of chronic plantar heel pain

Baseline VAS score >5

Exclusion Criteria:

History of foot fracture or tumor

Pregnancy

Coagulopathy or use of antiplatelet therapy

Cognitive impairment preventing informed consent

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

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Posterior tibial nerve PRF
Patients with chronic plantar heel pain who received ultrasound-guided pulsed radiofrequency treatment applied only to the posterior tibial nerve as part of routine clinical care.
Procedure: Pulsed radiofrequency
Ultrasound-guided pulsed radiofrequency applied to the posterior tibial nerve, with or without additional application to the sural nerve.
Posterior tibial + sural nerve PRF
Patients with chronic plantar heel pain who received ultrasound-guided pulsed radiofrequency treatment applied to both the posterior tibial nerve and the sural nerve as part of routine clinical care.
Procedure: Pulsed radiofrequency
Ultrasound-guided pulsed radiofrequency applied to the posterior tibial nerve, with or without additional application to the sural nerve.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
VAS
Time Frame: Baseline, 1 month, and 3 months post-procedure
Visual Analog Scale (VAS) is a simple tool used in clinical trials to measure pain intensity. Patients rate their pain on a scale, typically from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst imaginable pain). It provides a quick, quantitative assessment of subjective pain and is commonly used to evaluate treatment effectiveness before and after intervention.Change in pain intensity assessed by Visual Analog Scale (VAS)
Baseline, 1 month, and 3 months post-procedure

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
AOFAS
Time Frame: Baseline, 1 month, and 3 months post-procedure
American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) score is a clinical outcome measure used to assess foot and ankle conditions. It combines pain (40 points), function (50 points), and alignment (10 points) into a total score out of 100. Higher scores indicate better clinical status. It is frequently used in clinical trials to evaluate surgical or conservative treatment outcomes.
Baseline, 1 month, and 3 months post-procedure

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Diskapi Teaching and Research Hospital

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)

June 1, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

May 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

September 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 26, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 26, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

February 3, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 25, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 23, 2026

Last Verified

February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Sural-Posterior Tibial PRF

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

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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