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Extracorporeal shock-wave therapy is used for treating patients with plantar fasciitis, but in randomized trials, its efficacy has varied. In this latest trial, researchers randomized 250 patients with plantar fasciitis to receive three sessions of either extracorporeal shock-wave therapy or placebo treatment (sham therapy in which transmission of shock waves was blocked). All patients had been symptomatic for ≥6 months despite having received multiple nonsurgical treatments. At 12 weeks, the median percentage reduction in heel pain on a 10-point visual-analog scale — the primary outcome — was significantly greater in the shock-wave therapy group than in the control group (69% reduction vs. 35% reduction).
Insoles and heel pads commonly are …