Efficacy of acupuncture for chronic recalcitrant plantar fasciitis: A randomized trial

Wang W, Kang J, Wang X, Zhu L, Zhou K, Zang Z, Jiao R, Zhang W, Shi J, Liu Y, Liu Z · Complementary Therapies in Medicine · 2026 May

DOI 10.1016/j.ctim.2026.103329

Objective

To investigate whether acupuncture can reduce pain in patients with chronic recalcitrant plantar fasciitis compared to a waitlist control.

Conclusions

Among patients with chronic recalcitrant plantar fasciitis, acupuncture, particularly high-intensity acupuncture, notably reduced pain compared with the waitlist control, with lasting effects up to week 16.

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Insights

Acupuncture, especially high-intensity acupuncture, noticeably reduces pain in patients with chronic recalcitrant plantar fasciitis.

The study used a randomized, no-treatment-controlled trial approach to test the effect of acupuncture on patients with chronic recalcitrant plantar fasciitis. Patients were randomly allocated into three groups: high-intensity acupuncture, low-intensity acupuncture, or a waitlist control group. The primary outcome measure was the proportion of patients who had at least a 50% decrease in worst pain intensity by the fourth week among the combined acupuncture groups, as compared to the waitlist control. The combined acupuncture groups showcased a significantly higher response rate in comparison to the waitlist control group at the four-week mark. Moreover, a graded response with respect to acupuncture intensity was recorded with high-intensity acupuncture exhibiting a higher response rate than the low-intensity acupuncture. This trend continued through week 16. These findings underscore that acupuncture, particularly high-intensity, is effective in noticeably reducing pain in patients with persistent plantar fasciitis.