EFFECT OF IMPAIREMENT-BASED KALTENBORN TECHNIQUE FOR PLANTAR FASCIITIS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL

Relevance: Plantar fasciitis, the most common cause of heel pain, is due to repetitive strain injury to the medial arch and the heel, causing functional disabilities. Any biomechanical alteration in the lower extremity has its effect on plantar fascia. Kaltenborn mobilization techniques have been proved effective in improving the range of motion of the affected joints. There is a need to evaluate these techniques in plantar fasciitis by treating whole lower extremity. Participants: 20 subjects with the mean age (23.80±2.71) with primary heel pain are recruited in the study. Method: Subjects of randomized controlled trial were randomly allocated into two groups, Group A (n=10) received therapeutic ultrasound, stretching’s and exercises and Group B ( n=10 ) received therapeutic ultra sound, Kaltenborn mobilizations to the affected joints of lower extremity, stretching and exercises. The outcome measures are visual analogue scale ( VAS ), foot function index ( FFI ) and range of motion measured by Goniometer assessed on day 1 pre-treatment and day 12 post treatment. Analysis: It was done using Mann Whitney U test and Wilcoxon matched pairs test using SPSS software. Results: The intra-group mean differences in pre and post values for group-A are 1.80±2.39, 2.50±2.64, 3.40±1.84, and 19.75±8.16 for ankle dorsiflexion, plantarflexion, VAS and FFI respectively, and in group-B are 1.00±2.11, 10.50±8.32, 4.70±0.67and 28.07±8.26 for ankle dorsiflexion, plantarflexion, VAS and FFI respectively. The intra-group comparison had shown statistical significance with p<0.05 and whereas in between comparison group-B had shown better improvement than group-A. Conclusion: Kaltenborn mobilizations along with therapeutic ultrasound, stretches and exercises have shown better improvement compared to the control group.