Pulsed Radiofrequency Versus 5% Dextrose Injection in Chronic Plantar Fasciitis

June 30, 2026 updated by: Esra Ülgen Kıratlıoğlu, Ankara City Hospital Bilkent

Comparison of Ultrasound-Guided Pulsed Radiofrequency and 5% Dextrose Injection in Patients With Chronic Plantar Fasciitis: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This prospective, two-center, randomized controlled clinical trial aims to compare the effectiveness of ultrasound-guided pulsed radiofrequency and 5% dextrose injection in patients with chronic plantar fasciitis. Eligible participants will be randomized into two parallel groups. One group will receive ultrasound-guided pulsed radiofrequency treatment, and the other group will receive ultrasound-guided 5% dextrose injection using the peppering technique. All participants will receive a home-based plantar fascia stretching exercise program. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks after treatment. The primary outcome will be pain intensity measured by the Numeric Rating Scale. Secondary outcomes will include foot function, activity-related pain, ankle-hindfoot function, and health-related quality of life.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Plantar fasciitis is one of the most common causes of chronic heel pain in adults. It may impair walking pattern, daily activities, social life, and work-related functioning. Although conservative treatments are commonly used as first-line therapy, symptoms may become chronic in a considerable proportion of patients.

Dextrose injection is a regenerative injection treatment used in chronic musculoskeletal pain conditions. It is thought to stimulate local tissue healing responses through controlled inflammatory and proliferative mechanisms. Pulsed radiofrequency is a minimally invasive, non-neurodestructive radiofrequency technique used for pain control. Both pulsed radiofrequency and dextrose injection are used in clinical practice for resistant chronic plantar fasciitis; however, comparative data between these two approaches are limited.

This study will be conducted as a prospective, two-center, two-arm, parallel-group randomized controlled trial in the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation clinics of Ankara Bilkent City Hospital and Adana City Hospital. Participants with chronic plantar fasciitis will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio using the sealed-envelope method. The investigator responsible for randomization will know the allocation, while the outcomes assessor will be blinded to treatment allocation. Blinding of the interventionists will not be possible due to the nature of the procedures.

Participants in the pulsed radiofrequency group will receive ultrasound-guided pulsed radiofrequency treatment at baseline. Participants in the 5% dextrose group will receive ultrasound-guided 5% dextrose injection around the medial calcaneal insertion of the plantar fascia using the peppering technique, with 0.1-0.2 mL administered at each entry point. Dextrose injections will be performed in three sessions at 3-week intervals.

All participants will receive a home-based plantar fascia stretching exercise program. Exercises will be demonstrated by a physiotherapist, and participants will be instructed to perform the exercises twice daily for 12 weeks. Participants will be monitored for possible adverse events or complications for at least 30 minutes after the procedure. Clinical outcomes will be assessed at baseline, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

50

Phase

  • 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 Contact

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
      • Ankara, Turkey (Türkiye)
        • Recruiting
        • Ankara Bilkent City Hospital, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Hospital
        • Contact:

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

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosis of chronic plantar fasciitis based on medical history and physical examination
  • Heel pain resistant to conservative treatment for at least 12 weeks
  • Age between 18 and 70 years
  • Willingness to participate in the study and provide written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Congenital or acquired disease that may impair or prevent foot function, such as rheumatoid arthritis, hemiplegia, congenital foot deformity, traumatic foot or leg amputation, or fracture sequelae
  • Local infection or skin disease at the treatment site
  • Bleeding disorder or use of anticoagulant medication within the last week
  • Disease causing mental dysfunction, such as uncontrolled Parkinson disease or Alzheimer disease
  • Previous surgery for plantar fasciitis
  • Refusal to participate in the study or inability to provide informed consent
  • Failure to attend follow-up visits after treatment
  • Request to withdraw from the study
  • Pregnancy or suspected pregnancy
  • Presence of a cardiac pacemaker
  • History of epilepsy
  • Active or previous malignancy
  • Rheumatologic disease

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
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Ultrasound-Guided Pulsed Radiofrequency Treatment
Participants in this group will receive ultrasound-guided pulsed radiofrequency treatment at baseline. Clinical follow-up assessments will be performed at 3 weeks, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks. All participants will also receive a home-based plantar fascia stretching exercise program.
Procedure: Ultrasound-Guided Pulsed Radiofrequency Treatment
Ultrasound-guided pulsed radiofrequency treatment will be applied for chronic plantar fasciitis. Participants will be monitored for at least 30 minutes after the procedure for possible adverse events or complications.
Active Comparator: Ultrasound-Guided 5% Dextrose Injection
Ultrasound-guided pulsed radiofrequency treatment will be applied for chronic plantar fasciitis. Participants will be monitored for at least 30 minutes after the procedure for possible adverse events or complications.
Procedure: Ultrasound-Guided 5% Dextrose Injection
Ultrasound-guided 5% dextrose injection will be applied around the medial calcaneal insertion of the plantar fascia using the peppering technique, with 0.1-0.2 mL administered at each entry point. The treatment will consist of three sessions performed at 3-week intervals.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Heel Pain Intensity Assessed by Numeric Rating Scale
Time Frame: Baseline, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks after treatment
Heel pain intensity will be assessed using the Numeric Rating Scale. Resting pain, pain during plantar fascia stretching, and pain with pressure will be evaluated on an 11-point scale from 0 to 10, where 0 indicates no pain and 10 indicates the worst imaginable pain. Higher scores indicate greater pain intensity.
Baseline, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks after treatment

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Activity-Related Pain Assessed by the Roles and Maudsley Score
Time Frame: Baseline, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks after treatment
Activity-related heel pain and functional status will be assessed using the Roles and Maudsley Score. The score ranges from 1 to 4, with lower scores indicating better clinical status and higher scores indicating worse pain and functional limitation.
Baseline, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks after treatment
Change in Foot Function Assessed by the Foot Function Index
Time Frame: Baseline, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks after treatment
Foot-related pain, disability, and activity limitation will be assessed using the Foot Function Index. The scale includes pain, disability, and activity limitation subscales. Scores are converted to a 0-100 scale, with higher scores indicating greater pain, disability, and activity limitation.
Baseline, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks after treatment
Change in Ankle-Hindfoot Function Assessed by the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society Score
Time Frame: Baseline, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks after treatment
Ankle-hindfoot function will be assessed using the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society Ankle-Hindfoot Score. The score evaluates pain, function, and alignment. The total score ranges from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better ankle-hindfoot function.
Baseline, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks after treatment
Change in Health-Related Quality of Life Assessed by the Nottingham Health Profile
Time Frame: Baseline, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks after treatment
Health-related quality of life will be assessed using the Nottingham Health Profile. The questionnaire includes six domains: energy level, pain, emotional reactions, sleep, social isolation, and physical activity. The total score ranges from 0 to 600, with higher scores indicating worse perceived health status.
Baseline, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks after treatment

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Ankara City Hospital Bilkent

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)

January 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

January 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

January 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 30, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 30, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

July 7, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 7, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 30, 2026

Last Verified

June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • E2-26-14591

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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