Plantar fasciitis is one of the most common causes of heel
pain. Despite extensive efforts foot surgeons continue to debate the best modality of treatment.
Analgesics, shoe inserts, stretching exercises,
steroid injection, night
splints, and
extracorporeal shock wave therapy have proved effective in one group but fail in others. This study evaluated the efficacy of EZStep, a new foot
brace for the management of
plantar fasciitis. A total of 198 patients were randomized in 2 groups; group 1 (study group) received nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (
NSAIDs; 4-6 weeks) and EZStep whereas group 2 (control group) received either
NSAID and physiotherapy alone (2A) or
NSAID, physiotherapy, and local
steroid injection (2B). None of the patients received over-the-counter insoles or strapping of plantar arch to avoid any bias in randomization. Evaluations included measurement of weight and height, visual analog scale (VAS) for
pain, and Short-Form McGill
Pain Questionnaire (SFMPQ). After 8 weeks, patients were reevaluated, and assessment for the VAS and SFMPQ with treatment outcome was performed. Patients with VAS scores ≤3 were considered as excellent, ≥4 as good, and ≥7 as poor. The posttreatment evaluation showed that VAS scores were in the range from 2.97 ± 1.06 to 7.64 ± 2.9 (2A), P = .001, 95% confidence interval (CI) <-4.104; for 2B P = .001, CI <-2.44, and SFMPQ was 21.7 ± 4.5 and 69.2 ± 5.8 (group 2A; P = .001, 95% CI <-46.44). Compared with group 2B the SFMPQ was 66.5 ± 4.3 (P = .001, 95% CI <-30.720). In group 1 as per VAS, 86 (73.5%) were evaluated as excellent, 15 (12.8%) as good, and 16 (13.6%) as poor. Our study shows that the regular use of EZStep with short course of
NSAIDs (4-6 weeks) was effective in ameliorating symptoms in more than 85% of patients suffering from
plantar fasciitis.