Comparison of the Isolated Plantar Fascia Release Versus Plantar Fascia Release Combined With Calcaneal Decompression in Management of the Patients With Resistant Heel Pain

We aimed to compare isolated percutaneous plantar fascia release by using a needle versus percutaneous plantar fascia release combined with calcaneal decompression in treatment of the patients with resistant heel pain. We reviewed the prospectively recorded data of patients who treated and follow-up for resistant heel pain (treated more than 6 months with other treatment modalities) with a minimum 1-year follow-up. Twenty patients were treated with plantar fascia release using a needle (group 1) and 21 patients were treated with a similar percutaneous release combined with calcaneal decompression (group 2). Functional outcomes were evaluated using visual analog scale (VAS) and Foot Function Index (FFI) pre- and postoperatively. No significant differences were observed between both groups in terms of age (44.3 years in group 1 vs 46.8 years in group 2), gender (18 females and 2 males in group 1 vs 19 females and 3 males in group 2), body mass index (25.1 in group 1 vs 26.3 in group 2), and follow-up (14.6 months in group 1 vs 15.7 months in group 2). The decrease in postoperative FFI and VAS scores compared with preoperative VAS scores was statistically significant in both groups. However, improvement of FFI and VAS score was significantly higher in group 2 than group 1. Although both methods are very effective in the treatment of persistent heel pain, the group 2 has a better improvement in functional scores than group 1 with a mean 15 months following the procedure.