Extracorporeal shock wave therapy in patients with plantar fasciitis. A randomized, placebo-controlled trial with ultrasonographic and subjective outcome assessments.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Results of previous studies have been conflicting on the efficacy of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) in the treatment of plantar fasciitis. We evaluated the effects of ESWT on plantar fasciitis in terms of ultrasonographic and subjective evaluations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this randomized placebo-controlled trial, patients with plantar fasciitis were assigned to receive ESWT (4000 shock waves/session of 0.2 mJ/mm(2)) in 3 sessions at weekly intervals) or sham therapy (n = 20 in each group). Outcomes were documented by the ultrasonographic appearance of the aponeurosis and by patients' pain scores, performed at baseline and 12 weeks after completion of the therapy. RESULTS: The two groups were similar in baseline characteristics. Over the study period, plantar fascia thickness significantly reduced in the ESWT group (4.1 ± 1.3 to 3.6 ± 1.2 mm, P < 0.001), but slightly increased in the sham group (4.1 ± 0.8 to 4.5 ± 0.9 mm, P = 0.03). Both groups showed significant pain improvement over the course of the study (P < 0.001), though pain scores were significantly more reduced in the ESWT than the sham group (-4.2 ± 2.9 vs. -2.7 ± 1.8, P = 0.049). CONCLUSIONS: Extracorporeal shock wave therapy contributes to healing and pain reduction in plantar fasciitis and ultrasound imaging is able to depict the morphologic changes related to plantar fasciitis as a result of this therapy.

Prevalence of clinical findings of carpal tunnel syndrome in Isfahanian dentists.

BACKGROUND: Carpal tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is the most common compression neuropathy. Jobs with frequent and repetitive hand movements are one of the risk factors for this syndrome. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of CTS in Isfahanian dentists. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, 240 dentists were evaluated for CTS. Diagnosis was made according to both questionnaire and clinical tests of Phalen and Tinel. Age, sex, years of experience, working hours per week and the type of procedure were considered as dependent variables. All data were analyzed by Chi-square and T-test using SPSS software 11.5 (α=0.05). RESULTS: Among the dentists who were studied, 173 (72%) were male and 67 (28%) were female. 16.2% of males and 17.9% of females had symptoms of CTS and there wasn't any significant difference between them (P>0.05%). the prevalence increased with advancing age. In a way that it reached to 22.2% in ages more than 55 in contrast to 6% among individuals between 25-34 years old. With increasing of experience to 15 years the risk of CTS increased but an unexpected reduction was observed with more than 15 years of experience. CONCLUSION: This study showed the prevalence of CTS was 16.7% among dentists and was more common in older dentists. CTS prevalence was increased with age. The dentist population with more working hours per week and more experience years were more susceptible for this syndrome. Using suitable gloves, wrist splints and short periods of resting during vigorous continuous working can decrease the symptoms of this disease.