The Role of Lower Extremity Venous Insufficiency in Plantar Fasciitis Etiology

Aim: Plantar fasciitis (PF) is one of the most important causes of heel pain. Although the pathophysiology is not well understood, the current consideration is a degenerative process at the calcaneal insertion site of the plantar fascia. There are different conservative and surgical treatment methods. Etiology is multifactorial. In this study, it was aimed to investigate if there is a role of lower extremity venous insufficiency on the etiopathogenesis of PF. Material and Method: Sixty-seven patients (n=67) with diagnosis of PF (Group-1, male/female: 20/47) and fifty-two patients patients (n=52) with venous insufficiency (Group-2, male/female: 26/26) were examined in two different groups. Statistical analysis of the relationship between two groups was performed with Minitap-17 normality test and then paired samples t-test. Results: Among the doppler ultrasound examinations of sixtyseven patients in Group-1, no venous insufficiency was determined. Among the fifty-two patients in Group-2, only two patients were diagnosed as PF. Conclusion: It was found that there is no influence of lower extremity venous insufficiency on the etiopathology of PF