Introduction: Plantar fasciitis is one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders of the foot. Patients describe pain on the medial side of the heel. It is the most recognizable in the initial steps after prolonged inactivity and usually reduced after the increased rate of daily activity, but then gets worse again on the end of the day In 90% -95% of cases pain is eliminated by conservative treatment, which includes: rest, ice packs, specific exercise and stretching, anti-inflammatory drugs, shoes inserts and night splints. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to, based on review of professional and scientific literature, present the effects of stretching calf muscles and plantar fascia as a method of treatment in patients with plantar fasciitis. Methods: Literature was collected using COBISS/OPAC, Pubmed and PEDro. The following inclusion criteria were: free acces textes with full text in Slovenian and English language, researches, articles and texts published after 2002, researches which studied effects of stretching calf muscles and/or plantar fascia in patient with plantar fasciitis, researches with control group or compare group and have described randomization of patients. Results: Based on our criteria, 7 studies were included in the analysis. They were published between 2002 and 2017. The research results show that stretching plantar fascia and calf muscles gives good results, especially in reducing pain, as well as improving foot function and increasing patient satisfaction. However, most studies do not show major differences between the muscle-stretching group and the group with different types of conservative treatment or a control group. Discussion and conclusion: Despite positive results, there is need for more research, especially studies with better methodology that would compare different types of stretch, lengths and speed of stretch, which would then provide answers about optimal parameters. It would be good to make a comparison with the control group.
|
