2023 Medical Acupuncture

Acupuncture combined with a home-exercise program significantly reduces pain in patients suffering from plantar fasciopathy more than just a home exercise program.

A randomized controlled trial was set up at two U.S. Air Force military treatment facilities using subjects over 18 years old suffering from plantar fasciopathy. In total, 94 subjects were divided into two groups; those who only did home exercises and those who did home exercises and received acupuncture. The intervention group got acupuncture every other week, four times in total. There was no blinding and after an initial 12-week study, patients in the control group were given an option to cross over to acupuncture. The main focus of the trial outcomes was on reduction of pain and improved functioning, with scores taken at baseline, every visit, and six weeks after treatment.

The outcome revealed that the control group had a notable reduction in pain at the end of the study, the intervention group had over a 50% reduction in pain immediately after every acupuncture session and a sustained reduction in pain at the termination of the study. In addition, subjects who crossed over to acupuncture from the control group observed a considerable drop in their pain scores instantly as well as at the 12 weeks post-acupuncture point. However, while function scores did enhance, there was no significant statistical difference.

Acupuncture for Plantar Fasciopathy: A Randomized Controlled Trial Cagle SD, Covey C, Farrell J, Sharon DJ, Crawford P

2021 Medical Acupuncture

Acupuncture displays potential as a safe and effective treatment for foot and ankle pain, providing pain relief and functional improvement.

The researchers gathered Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) from 6 major English databases, and relevant systematic reviews manually via Google Scholar. The selected RCTs studied the comparison of acupuncture with various types of sham acupuncture and nonactive or waitlist controls in terms of pain intensity, functional status, and general quality of life. All procedures including study screening, data extraction, risk of bias assessment, and quality assessment were conducted independently. Instead of performing a quantitative synthesis, the team opted for a narrative synthesis as quantitative pooling wasn't fit for the collected data.

Four RCTs involving a total of 211 participants were included. Due to distinct clinical heterogeneity involving all the outcomes, the team did not conduct a quantitative analysis. Using a quality grading system, all outcomes were rated as supported by low or very low-quality evidence. Despite this, the study still showed acupuncture is potentially effective for treating participants with plantar fasciitis or Achilles tendinopathy, in terms of pain relief and functional status improvement, over short- and intermediate-term follow-ups. Notably, no adverse events linked to acupuncture use were reported.

The Efficacy of Acupuncture on Foot and Ankle for Pain Intensity, Functional Status, and General Quality of Life in Adults: A Systematic Review Trinh K, Belski N, Zhou F, Kuhad A, Luk D, Youn E

2021 Medical Acupuncture

Acupuncture displays potential as a safe and effective treatment for foot and ankle pain, providing pain relief and functional improvement.

The researchers gathered Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) from 6 major English databases, and relevant systematic reviews manually via Google Scholar. The selected RCTs studied the comparison of acupuncture with various types of sham acupuncture and nonactive or waitlist controls in terms of pain intensity, functional status, and general quality of life. All procedures including study screening, data extraction, risk of bias assessment, and quality assessment were conducted independently. Instead of performing a quantitative synthesis, the team opted for a narrative synthesis as quantitative pooling wasn't fit for the collected data.

Four RCTs involving a total of 211 participants were included. Due to distinct clinical heterogeneity involving all the outcomes, the team did not conduct a quantitative analysis. Using a quality grading system, all outcomes were rated as supported by low or very low-quality evidence. Despite this, the study still showed acupuncture is potentially effective for treating participants with plantar fasciitis or Achilles tendinopathy, in terms of pain relief and functional status improvement, over short- and intermediate-term follow-ups. Notably, no adverse events linked to acupuncture use were reported.

The Efficacy of Acupuncture on Foot and Ankle for Pain Intensity, Functional Status, and General Quality of Life in Adults: A Systematic Review Trinh K, Belski N, Zhou F, Kuhad A, Luk D, Youn E

2012 Acupuncture in Medicine

There is evidence supporting the effectiveness of acupuncture for plantar heel pain comparable to that available for conventionally used interventions, such as stretching, night splints or dexamethasone.

Five randomised controlled trials and three non-randomised comparative studies were included. High quality studies report significant benefits. In one, acupuncture was associated with significant improvement in pain and function when combined with standard treatment (including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). In another, acupuncture point PC7 improved pain and pressure pain threshold significantly more than LI4. Other papers were of lower quality but suggest benefits from other acupuncture approaches.

The Effectiveness of Acupuncture for Plantar Heel Pain: A Systematic Review Clark RJ, Tighe M

2011 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Acupuncture can provide pain relief to patients with plantar fasciitis.

This study demonstrates that acupoint PC7 has a specific effect for treatment of plantar fasciitis, and that the method of acupuncture treatment is both simple and safe. Further studies comparing acupuncture treatment with an inert placebo and conventional treatment as parallel arms are recommended to further elucidate the efficacy of acupuncture treatment for heel pain.

Acupuncture treatment for plantar fasciitis: a randomized controlled trial with six months follow-up Shi Ping Zhang , Tsui-Pik Yip, Qiu-Shi Li