Sonographic and clinical effects of manual physical therapy for plantar fasciitis: randomized prospective controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of manual physiotherapy on clinical outcomes, morphology of plantar fascia (PF), thicknesses of calcaneal fat pad (CFP) and Kager's fat pad (KFP) with ultrasound imaging in plantar fasciitis (PFS) patients. Also, to evaluate the PF thickness, pain and foot functional outcomes among PFS phases. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was conducted on 122 subjects divided into three groups: group A (40 patients with PFS) underwent manual physiotherapy, group B (42 patients with PFS) without any intervention and group C (40 healthy subjects) were matched by age, gender and BMI with each patient in group A and B. The following outcomes were evaluated at baseline and one-month of follow-ups: morphology of PF and thicknesses of CFP and KFP, pain, foot functional limitation. RESULTS: PF thickness was significantly thickened in group A and B compared to group C (P < 0.001). A significant decrease in incidence of PF echogenicity and CFP thickness were found in group A and B compared to group C. Moreover, significant improvement was observed in PF thickness (P < 0.001), PF echogenicity (P < 0.001) and CFP thickness (P = 0.002) in group A at one-month after the treatment. Furthermore, pain intensity and foot functional limitation was significantly improved within group A after receiving the treatment. Significant improvement was noted in PF thickness, pain intensity and foot functional limitation among patients with acute phase. CONCLUSION: The manual physiotherapy is effective in treatment of PF thickening, hypoechogenicity, pain intensity and activity limitations, particularly in patients associated with acute PFS.

An assessment of plantar fascia with ultrasound findings in patients with plantar fasciitis: a systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: Plantar fasciitis (PFS) is described by an intense pain over medial tubercle of calcaneus, increased with the first step after waking up, after rest and during weightbearing activity. It is the most common cause of plantar heel pain in adults with the prevalence estimated 10% of the general population. Ultrasound imaging is commonly being used to measure the PF thickness, evaluate the efficacy of different treatments and a guide therapeutic technique in patients with PFS. The objective of this study was to systematically review the studies that were previously published to evaluate the role of ultrasound in the assessment of PF in patients with PFS. METHODS: A systematic search was carried out over the last 5 years from 2017 to 2022 on basis the following electronic databases: Science Direct, Scopus, Web of Science, Springer and PubMed. The keywords that used in the searching were: ultrasound, sonography, ultrasonography, plantar fasciitis, imaging of plantar fascia, physiotherapy of plantar fasciitis, interventional treatment of plantar fasciitis, randomized controlled trial of plantar fasciitis and interventional ultrasound. The review focused on the assessment of PF in patients with PFS underwent different interventions using B-mode, shear wave elastography (SWE) and color Doppler ultrasound. RESULTS: During the search process, 1661 were recorded using the proper keywords from 2017 to 2022 in which 666 original articles were found after removing the review and duplicated articles. Of these, thirty articles met the inclusion criteria and included in this review. The articles have assessed the PF in patients with PFS under different conditions using different ultrasound modes. Twenty-six articles evaluated the effectiveness of different treatment on PF in patients with PFS using different ultrasound modes. In 8 of 26 articles, the ultrasound was used as both an assessment tool of PF and guide therapeutic technique in patients with PFS. In 18 articles, the ultrasound was used as only assessment tool to identify the PF thickness and its observation changes in patients with PFS. Four articles compared the PF thickness and its intrafascial changes between patients with PFS and healthy subjects. CONCLUSION: The ultrasound can be a reliable tool in assessment the effect of different interventions on PF by evaluating its thickness, echogenicity and stiffness changes in patients with PFS. There were different methods and treatments were used among the studies.

Ultrasonographic Measurements of the Liver, Gallbladder Wall Thickness, Inferior Vena Cava, Portal Vein and Pancreas in an Urban Region, Malaysia.

BACKGROUND: Ultrasonographic (USG) measurements of the liver length, gallbladder wall thickness (GBWT), diameters of the inferior vena cava (IVC), portal vein (PV), and pancreas are valuable and reliable in diagnosis hepatobiliary and pancreas conditions. This study is aimed to determine the normal values of liver length, GBWT, AP diameters of the IVC and PV, AP diameter of the head and body of the pancreas. METHODS: A prospective cross-sectional study was carried out in this study. A total of the 408 participants were randomly recruited using a systematic method. According to the USG reports, the subjects who had normal USG report for liver, biliary system, and pancreas were described as normals, whereas the subjects who had hepatobiliary diseases such as fatty liver, liver cysts, hemangioma, cirrhosis, gallbladder wall thickening, acute cholecystitis, gallstones, and polyps were recorded as abnormal subjects. RESULTS: Of the 408 participants with a mean of 52.6 ± 8.4 years old. Of those, 294 (72.1%) participants were normal and 114 (27.9%) subjects were reported as abnormal. More than half of the study population was males, 52.9% versus 47.1% of females. There was a significant difference of liver length, head, and body of the pancreas between genders (P = 0.004, 0.002, and P < 0.001, respectively). Moreover, the pancreatic body only was significantly correlated with age (P = 0.026). There also was a significant difference of the liver length, head, and body of the pancreas between normal and abnormal subjects (P < 0.001, P = 0.007, and P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Liver length, diameter of the head, and body of the pancreas were significantly associated with gender and hepatobiliary diseases. In addition, only the diameter of the body of the pancreas was significantly correlated with age.

Prevalence and risk factors of sonographically detected non alcoholic fatty liver disease in a screening centre in Klang Valley, Malaysia: an observational cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a very common liver disorder in Western countries. As of late, it has been found to be prevalent in Asia as well. It is a benign disease unless it develops into necroinflammation and fibrosis. This study was proposed to determine the prevalence and risk factors of sonography-detected NAFLD among Malaysian adults in Klang Valley, West Malaysia. STUDY DESIGN: An observational cross-sectional study. METHODS: The participants were aged between 45 and 75 years who participated in a screening program at the Golden Horses Health Sanctuary in Klang Valley. Lipid profile and anthropometric measurements were collected from the subjects' medical records. Ultrasound machine and a structured self-administered questionnaire were used as instruments for recruiting data from the subjects. The subjects who consumed alcohol (>140 g/wk for men and >70 g/wk for females), had hepatitis B or C viruses, liver insults, and surgery, and taken lipid-lowering medications were excluded from the study. RESULTS: A total of 628 subjects were analyzed, and 235 (37.4%) subjects were diagnosed with definite NAFLD. They comprised 518 (82.5%) Chinese, 92 (14.6%) Malays, and 18 (2.9%) Indians. Peak prevalence of NAFLD was found in 53 to 60 years age group. The higher prevalence of NAFLD was among men (48.3%) than women (27.3%) and among Indians (61.1%) and Malays (51.1%) than among Chinese (34.2%). NAFLD has been found to be strongly correlated with male sex, high body mass index (≥23.0 kg/m2), hypertriglyceridemia, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension. CONCLUSION: NAFLD is quite common among adults in Malaysian urban population. The prevalence of NAFLD was inordinately high among the 53 to 60 years age group, male sex, Indians, and Malays (as compared with Chinese). Age >60 years, male sex, high body mass index (≥23.0 kg/m2), hypertriglyceridemia, and diabetes mellitus were proven to be risk predictors for NAFLD.