EFFECT OF MANUAL THERAPY VERSUS CONVENTIONAL THERAPY IN PATIENTS WITH PLANTAR FASCIITIS ? A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of manual therapy with conventional therapy on pain and disability in patients with plantar fasciitis. Background: There is limited evidence available which support that manual therapy can be used as an intervention in the management of plantar fasciitis. Study Design: experimental study and different subject design Methods: Patients diagnosed with plantar fasciitis underwent a standard evaluation and completed a selfreport questionnaire including the Foot Function Index (FFI), and the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS). 30 patients were randomly divided in two groups, to be treated with either Conventional therapy or Manual therapy approach. Outcomes of treatment were captured on the 1st day and 21st day of the treatment session. Results: The data was analysed using unpaired‘t’ tests. NPRS was mean 6.53 versus 6.80 for pre-treatment in group A and group B respectively; t28=0.50, p=0.62 and mean 2.27 versus 1.00 for post-treatment in group A and group B respectively; t28=2.62, p=0.01 FFI was mean 41.01 versus 42.67 for pre-treatment in group A and group B respectively; t28=0.77, p=0.49 and mean 6.20 versus 4.16 for post-treatment in group A and group B respectively; t28=2.68, p=0.01 Conclusion: The results of this study provide evidence that manual therapy is a superior approach in improving pain and disability in individuals with plantar fasciitis and can be incorporated in the regular treatment regime of the same.