Acupuncture has proven efficient as a second-line treatment for plantar fasciitis, demonstrating strong effectiveness in pain reduction at a one-month interval.
This meta-analysis evaluated the efficacy of acupuncture for plantar fasciitis, comparing it with other treatments including extracorporeal shockwave therapy, ultrasound-guided therapy, corticosteroid injection, and platelet-rich plasma injection. Resources included databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Science Direct, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure. Clinically relevant studies from January 2000 to October 2020 were reviewed, yielding 32 relevant papers with a total of 2390 samples. Each study's pain measurement data, taken at one and three months post-treatment using the Visual Analog Scale, were used in the analysis. The analysis applied both direct and indirect methods and included randomized controlled trials and non-randomized controlled trials, comparing each intervention against others or a placebo.
In the study, the effectiveness of treatments was evaluated at two-time intervals: one month and three months. At the one-month point, acupuncture proved the most effective treatment compared to a placebo. However, on a three-month scale, platelet-rich plasma injection rated the highest, albeit with no statistically significant difference from placebo. Therefore, despite the varying results at different intervals, the study concludes that acupuncture is a potential second-line intervention for plantar fasciitis, along with other common treatments.
