Radial vs focus extracorporeal shock wave therapy for heel pain relief

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Created On: 08/01/2025

Plantar fasciitis, often linked to painful calcaneal spurs, requires effective management. This study compared radial and focus extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) to determine their impact on pain, function, and spur size in plantar fasciitis.

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Key take away

Both radial and focus extracorporeal shockwave therapies are useful for treating plantar fasciitis, with no vital differences in long-term effectiveness between the two modalities.

Background

Method

Overall, 112 subjects (age 18-95) with radiological and clinical diagnosis of plantar fasciitis were split into two groups: Group 1 was treated with radial ESWT (2.4 bar, 12 Hz, 2000 beats), and Group 2 was treated with focus ESWT (0.14 bar, 14 Hz, 1000 beats). Both groups underwent therapy thrice a week for about 3 weeks. Pain and function were assessed via the visual analog scale (VAS) and foot function index (FFI) prior to and after therapy, at 4 weeks, and at 12 weeks. Spur size was measured radiographically at the 12-week follow-up.

Result

VAS scores were comparable between groups before treatment and at follow-ups (p > .05). Both radial and focus ESWT groups experienced a substantial drop in VAS scores at follow-ups compared to baseline (p < .001). FFI total, heel pain, activity, and disability scores were also comparable between groups (p > .05), with both groups illustrating remarkable improvements at follow-ups (p < .001).

Conclusion

Both radial and focus ESWT proved beneficial for plantar fasciitis management. Long-term outcomes showed no pivotal difference between the two methods, making both viable options for relief.

Source:

The Journal of Foot and Ankle Surgery

Link:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39222874/

Article:

Investigation of The Effectiveness of Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy in Patients Diagnosed with Plantar Fasciitis: Comparison of Radial and Focus Applications