Effect of Foam Rolling along with Self-stretching on Pain and Range of Motion in Plantar Fasciitis Patient- A Quasi-experimental Study

Abstract

Introduction: The most common cause of heel pain is plantar fasciitis. Previous literature suggests that stretching exercise had shown better results in the non surgical treatment options available, due to this technique muscle strength and the force production capacity is reduced. Myofascial release is an alternate technique which can improve Range Of Motion (ROM) and reduce pain without compromising the muscle performance. Aim: To evaluate the effect of foam rolling along with selfstretching on pain and ROM in plantar fasciitis patients. Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted between May 2020 to May 2021, at Kailash Institute of Nursing and Paramedical Sciences, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. Thirty participants with plantar fasciitis meeting the inclusion criteria of age between 24-60 years were included and allocated into two groups by convenience sampling. Group A received self-stretching of calf and plantar fascia whereas group B received foam rolling along with self-stretching of calf and plantar fascia for three weeks. Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Weight Bearing Lunge Test (WBLT) were recorded at baseline and by the end of 3rd week for both the groups to measure pain and ankle ROM. Data was analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16.0 statistical software. The independent sample t-test was used for intergroup comparison and student’s paired t-test was utilised for within group comparison. The statistical difference significance was set at p-value <0.05 for all the test performed. Results: Within group analysis has shown that there was a statistically significant difference (p<0.001) in all the outcome measures in both the groups. The between group analysis showed no statistically significant difference in VAS (p=0.405) however significant difference were found in WBLT (p=0.003). Conclusion: The present study proved that both self-stretching and foam rolling with self-stretching showed significant improvement on pain and increasing ROM in plantar fasciitis. However, effectiveness of foam rolling with self-stretching was superior to self-stretching in terms of increasing WBLT.