PRP Effective in Treating Plantar Fasciitis, According to Study

Feb. 22, 2012 - PRLog -- For patients with severe chronic plantar fasciitis not manageable with traditional non-operative treatments, injections with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is significantly more effective than using cortisone.  This is according to a study presented by Raymond R. Monto, M.D., from the Nantucket Cottage Hospital in Massachusetts at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, held recently in San Francisco.

Dr. Monto compared PRP with cortisone injections for the treatment of 36 patients with plantar fasciitis that was resistant to traditional non-operative management.  Patients underwent pretreatment magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound studies.  Group 1, with an average age of 59 years, an average of 5.4 months of failed standard non-operative treatment, and an average pretreatment American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) score of 52, was treated with a single injection of methylprednisolone at the injury site.  Group 2, with an average age of 51 years, an average of 5.7 months of failed standard non-operative treatment, and an average pretreatment AOFAS score of 37, was treated with a single injection of un-buffered autologous PRP.

Monto found that, in Group 1, the average post-treatment AOFAS score improved to 81 at three months, decreased to 74 at six months, and then decreased to 58 at 12 months. In Group 2, the average post-treatment AOFAS score improved to 95 at three months, and remained at 94 at six and 12 months (P = 0.001).

Based on the improved AOFAS score, platelet-rich plasma injection was more effective and durable than cortisone injection for the treatment of severe chronic plantar fasciitis.

Dennis Lox, M.D., a physical and regenerative medicine specialist in the Tampa Bay area of Florida, comments that, while there are still no large-scale studies of PRP’s effectiveness, this study does support the growing body of evidence that indicates that PRP is effective in treating musculoskeletal injuries and conditions, and it is used widely and openly in professional sports and the veterinary world.

Plantar fasciitis is a common source of foot pain.  The pain may sometimes be diffuse and confused with ankle pain.  The plantar fascia is a fibrous aponeurosis (a thick cord-like tissue).  It originates off the calcaneus or heel bone and fans out to attach to the plantar surfaces of the phalanges bones (foot bones).  

Plantar fasciitis is a common source of foot pain in athletes, especially ones who compete in running athletics.  However, plantar fasciitis may also been seen in over-weight non-athletes

The plantar fascia may either be caused by an inflammatory process or there may be an underlying degenerative process, such as seen in tendinopathies where there is thickening, scarring and abnormal collagen formations.  Rupture of the plantar fascia may occur with an extremely forceful injury, usually in the mid portion of the fascia.  


http://www.Drlox.com

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Dennis M. Lox, M.D. is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Since 1990, he has used sports medicine techiques and cutting-edge technology to help heal musculoskeletal injuries and relieve pain.