The symptomatic and functional effects of manual physical therapy on plantar heel pain: a systematic review.
Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Date
2-1-2017
Journal
J Man Manip Ther
Volume
25
Issue
1
DOI
10.1080/10669817.2015.1106818
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Plantar heel pain is common and can be severely disabling. Unfortunately, a gap in the literature exists regarding the optimal intervention for this painful condition. Consequently, a systematic review of the current literature regarding manual therapy for the treatment of plantar heel pain was performed.
METHODS: A computer-assisted literature search for randomized controlled trials in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, CINAHL, and Rehabilitation & Sports Medicine Source, was concluded on 7 January 2014. After identification of titles, three independent reviewers selected abstracts and then full-text articles for review.
RESULTS: Eight articles were selected for the final review and underwent PEDro scale assessment for quality. Heterogeneity of the articles did not allow for quantitative analysis. Only two studies scored ≥7/10 on the PEDro scale and included joint, soft tissue, and neural mobilization techniques. These two studies showed statistically greater symptomatic and functional outcomes in the manual therapy group.
DISCUSSION: This review suggests that manual therapy is effective in the treatment of plantar heel pain; however, further research is needed to validate these findings given the preponderance of low quality studies.
APA Citation
Mischke, J., Jayaseelan, D., Sault, J., & Emerson Kavchak, A. (2017). The symptomatic and functional effects of manual physical therapy on plantar heel pain: a systematic review.. J Man Manip Ther, 25 (1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10669817.2015.1106818
Peer Reviewed
1
Open Access
1
Comments
This is an open access PubMed Central article.