Background and Purpose: Plantar Fasciitis (PF) is a condition that
affects the foot and causes complaints such as pain and stiffness. The most
common symptom of this condition is pain. There are many treatment options to
deal with this condition, such as conservative therapy, medications, and surgical interventions
in rare cases. This case study aims to investigate the potential impact of pain
neuroscience education (PNE), combined with a conventional Physical Therapy
(PT) program on a 37-year-old-patient with chronic plantar fasciitis. Case
description: A 37-year-old male health care professional presented to an
outpatient physical therapy clinic with a diagnosis of chronic PF for around
two years. The participant had tried several treatment options with no
improvement of his symptoms. After undergoing a physical therapy evaluation, he
was given a plan of care for twelve sessions by a skilled physical therapist
for a six-week period, with each session consisting of 30 minutes of
conventional PT, followed by 5 to 15 minutes of PNE. Results: After completing
the prescribed plan of care, the patient reported a reduction in subjective symptoms via the Visual
Analog Scale (VAS). He also reported improvement with symptoms and functional
independence via the Foot Function Index (FFI). The patient reported no change
in the quality of sleep via Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Lastly, he
demonstrated no objective improvement in foot pressure with the Navicular Drop
Test. Discussion: This case report indicates that PNE, combined with
conventional PT for PF can have a positive impact on subjective pain and foot
function. PNE should involve many topics about the physiology of pain and the nervous
system and should be administered by a certified therapeutic pain specialist.
Further studies are recommended to investigate the impact of this intervention
in combination with traditional PT for PF in larger populations.
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