EFFICACY OF PLATELET-RICH PLASMA (PRP) VS CORTICOSTEROID INJECTION IN PLANTAR FASCIITIS

Introduction: Plantar fasciitis is one of the more common causes of pain in the heel, as seen in non-traumatic patients. When the conservative treatments fail, Corticosteroid injection and Autologous Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injection will provide good pain relief. The study was performed to compare the functional outcomes following PRP and steroid injection and to identify which modality provides better pain relief. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective study of 30 patients. Patients were allocated to 2 groups, Group A(n = 15) and Group B(n=15). PRP injection was given in group A and Corticosteroid injection was given in group B. Visual Analog scale (VAS) and American Orthopaedics Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) score were used for assessing the pain and functional outcome. Results: In group A: the mean VAS pre-PRP was 6.66, which improved to 1.13 at the 6^th-month follow-up. The mean AOFAS score pre-PRP was 62.8 and was improved to 89.20 at the 6^th-month follow-up. In group B, the mean VAS pre-steroid injection was 6.8, which improved to 2.86 at the end of the 6^th-month follow-up. The mean AOFAS score pre-steroid injection was 63.3 and was improved to 84.1 at the end of the 6^th-month follow-up. Conclusion: Autologous PRP injections are more efficient than corticosteroid injections in terms of long-term pain relief and improvement of functional outcomes in treating plantar fasciitis.