Effectiveness of therapeutic ultrasound on reducing pain intensity and functional disability in patients with plantar fasciitis: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Ultrasound therapy is one of the preferred conservative treatments for patients with plantar fasciitis. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of therapeutic ultrasound in decreasing pain intensity and improving functional disability in patients with plantar fasciitis.

METHODS: Five randomised control trials (RCT) were selected based on an electronic search in PubMed, Trip Database and PEDro. To be included in the systematic review, the study should be an RCT which investigated the effectiveness of therapeutic ultrasound conducted in patients with plantar fasciitis with pain intensity and functional disability as outcome measures. Only studies published in peer-reviewed journals written in the English language were included. The quality of the selected studies was measured by the PEDro scale.

RESULTS: All the included studies showed that ultrasound therapy is beneficial in reducing pain score and improving functional disability, except one study did not recommend using ultrasound therapy for plantar fasciitis. Moreover, regarding another outcome measure, two studies found that ultrasound therapy reduces thickness and tenderness in plantar fasciitis and improves static and dynamic balance.

CONCLUSION: After reviewing the five studies, this systematic review support using ultrasound therapy to decrease pain and improve functional disability in patients with plantar fasciitis.

STUDY REGISTRATION: https://osf.io/xftzy/.