Publication:

Autologous whole blood injection in chronic plantar fasciitis: a prospective clinical study

Background Plantar fasciitis represents painful inflammatory process of plantar fascia with pain beneath the heel. The disease is frustrating for both the patient and the physician as the etiology is unknown. Conservative management is the mainstay of treatment. Patients with resistant pain can be treated with local injections. In this study we evaluated the effectiveness of autologous whole blood injection for treatment of chronic plantar fasciitis.

Methods The study was conducted on 55 patients (males=25, females=30) with chronic heel pain for more than 6 months and failed conservative treatment. After proper clinical evaluation and diagnosis, autologous whole blood was injected on medial aspect of heel at the most tender point. Visual analog score was noted before injection and at 3 and 6 months of follow-up.

Results Mean preprocedure visual analog score was 8.2 (range=4-10), which reduced to a mean of 4.5 (range=0-9) at 3 month follow-up and 3.3 (range 0-9) at 6 month follow-up. The reduction in VAS score was statistically significant (p<0.001). No complications occurred in our series.

Conclusions Autologous whole blood injections appear to be cost-effective for treatment of resistant plantar fasciitis with no serious side effects.