Ultrasound-guided injection for plantar fasciitis: A brief review

Abstract

Plantar fasciitis (PF) is a distressing condition experienced by many patients. Although self-limiting, it tends to become a chronic ailment if the precipitating factors are not addressed. One of the modality of treating PF is intra-lesional corticosteroid injection. This was done using palpation technique earlier but nowadays many specialists use ultrasound (US) imaging as a guide to give injection accurately instead of inadvertently damaging the plantar fascia or injecting into surrounding soft tissue, both of which can have serious implications. We did a literature search in Medline, Scopus, and Embase databases to find out articles describing US-guided corticosteroid injection for treating PF and whether guided injection was effective than injection given by palpation.

Keywords: Chronic pain; corticosteroid; nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents; plantar fasciitis; tendinopathy; ultrasonography.

Figure 1

Out-of-plane injection for plantar fasciitis: The needle is entered in an out-of-plane approach from the medial side. The arrow shows the point of needle entry in an out-of-plane approach

Figure 2

In-plane approach for plantar fascia. The advantage of in-plane approach is that the needle is visualized in its entire course. The arrow points toward entry of needle in an in-plane approach