SHORT-TERM COMPARISON OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF EXTRACORPOREAL SHOCKWAVE THERAPY AND ULTRASOUND THERAPY IN THE TREATMENT OF PAINFUL HEEL SPURS: A PRELIMINARY STUDY

Background
A heel spur is a disease associated with the formation of a bone growth near the heel bone, causing severe pain and inflammation of the plantar fasciitis.

Material and methods
The study included 39 patients diagnosed with painful heel spurs who were randomly assigned to two research groups. The first group (18 patients) underwent a series of ultrasound therapy (UT), and the second group (21 patients) was treated with extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT). The therapeutic effects were assessed with the use of a survey including basic demographic data, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scale, Laitinen scale, and a SF-36 questionnaire.

Results
The ESWT caused a statistically significantly greater reduction in pain compared to the patients group treated with the UT as assessed in the VAS scale (67.23% vs. 27.34%; p<0.001) and the Laitinen scale (60.65% vs. 30.77%; p<0.001). The results of the SF-36 questionnaire improved significantly in both groups (13.71% vs. 9.01% for the physical dimension and 16.33 vs. 9.68 for the mental dimension) with no statistical significance between two examined groups (p>0.05).

Conclusions
The ESWT has shown higher therapeutic effectiveness in the treatment of heel spurs compared to the UT regarding a reduction in the intensity of pain. Quality of life improved in both groups, although there was no significant difference in the therapeutic effectiveness of both assessed physical procedures.