Exercise Therapy for Plantar Heel Pain: A Systematic Review

International Journal of Exercise Science 5(3) : 276-289, 2012. This study aimed to review the evidence of exercise therapy in the treatment of Plantar Heel Pain. Comprehensive search strategy was conducted to identify randomized and quasi-randomized trials. The primary outcome was pain intensity; the secondary outcome was functional limitation. From an initial list of 2327 potentially relevant trials, seven trials were included. Most trials included short-term follow up only of pain and function outcomes. Narrative review revealed limited evidence that stretching exercise alone was superior to other conservative treatments; combining other conservative treatments with stretching was more effective than stretching exercise alone. Limited evidence showed that supervised clinical-based exercise is more effective than home-based self exercise. There is limited evidence that adding stretching exercise to the conservative treatment is more effective than control/ sham therapy. Future trials should investigate the effectiveness of long-term treatment of stretching and other forms of exercise therapy on larger sample size