Functional outcome of autologous platelet rich plasma injection in plantar fasciitis and tennis elbow

Recent developments in cellular and molecular biology have emerged as a potent tool in the management of orthopaedic illnesses and injuries. Upon binding to the target cell receptor, the growth factor from platelets triggers the activation of an intracellular signal transduction system, which results in a biological response that is essential for chemotaxis, cell proliferation, and osteoblastic differentiation. The aim of this study is to determine the efficacy and safety of autologous platelet-rich plasma injection in tennis elbow and plantar fasciitis. We conducted a prospective study with patients who were suffering from plantar fasciitis (n=37) or tennis elbow (n=23) and were given with autologous platelet-rich plasma injection. A short term follow up of all these cases were done at regular intervals for 1, 4, 8, and 12 weeks. The clinical outcomes were analyzed with severity of pain and movements of the pathological part. The functional outcomes were analyzed with VAS and AOFAS scoring for plantar fasciitis and VAS and Mayo’s elbow scoring for tennis elbow. All these patients were statistically analyzed by repeated measures ANOVA test. Our investigation found a statistically significant difference between pre-procedural and post-procedural scores in both the subjective (VAS) and functional (AOFAS and Mayo elbow score) grading systems used in this study. Patients who received an autologous platelet-rich plasma injection experienced a statistically significant (p <0.05) improvement in their ability to combat both of the musculoskeletal illnesses studied. Autologous platelet-rich plasma acts as a promising efficacious biological therapeutic agent for use in musculoskeletal disorders such as plantar fasciitis and tennis elbow without major complications upon its usage.

NORMAL PLANTAR FASCIA THICKNESS IN ADULT

Background: Plantar fasciitis is a common problem caused by thickening of the plantar fascia. The normal plantar fascia thickness ranged between 2-3 mm and it was generally accepted that value more than 4mm was considered pathologic. Objective: to identify normal plantar fascia thickness in adults using ultrasonography. Methods: This is a cross sectional study measuring the thickness of plantar fascia in 145 subjects with no history of heel pain. Plantar fascia thickness was measured in both feet using an ultrasound. Age, height and weight were recorded and analysed. Results: As much as 145 subjects were included in this study. Male to female ratio was 0.7. Mean age was 44 and body mass index (BMI) was mostly within normal range. Plantar fascia thickness in male was 2.71 ± 0.48 mm in right foot, and 2.74 ± 0.47 mm in left foot. Fascia thickness in female was 2.55 ± 0.50 mm in right foot, and 2.57 ± 0.45 mm in left foot. There was a significant plantar fascia thickness difference between male and female (p = 0.035 in right foot, and p=0.04 in left foot). Age, weight and BMI had a significant correlation towards plantar fascia thickness. In multivariate analysis, age and BMI revealed to have a linear correlation to plantar fascia thickness Conclusion: Age and BMI were found to be the best predictive factor of plantar fascia thickness.

Clinical Characteristics of Iraqi Women Who Had Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis is a common complaint. This paper aimed to find the clinical characteristics of Al-Ramadi Women who had Plantar fasciitis. A specialist rheumatologist in Al-Ramadi Teaching Hospital collected this prospective report from 170 Iraqi women, aged (25-70) years, who had plantar fasciitis between 1st January 2019 to 1st January 2020. Our findings showed that the most common affected age was between (40-49) years among all women who suffered from intense sharp painful heels at the start of walking. There were 66 women (38%) between (40-49) years plus 32 women (18%) their BMI was between (30-34%). In the commonest age group, there were 37 women (21.7%) who had Calcaneal spur and five women (0.2%) who had Diabetes Mellitus. Therefore, it can be clearly said that Plantar Fasciitis is an evidence for obese due to the statistical analysis carried on the middle-aged Iraqi women who had intense sharp painful heels at the start of walking plus calcaneal spur in the lateral X-ray.