The Effect of Corticosteroid Local Injection Versus Platelet-Rich Plasma for the Treatment of Plantar Fasciitis in Obese Patients: A Single-Blind, Randomized Clinical Trial

Chronic plantar heel pain (CPHP) is one of the most common painful and disabling foot conditions, for which vari-
ous treatments have been proposed. We aimed to investigate the efficacy of local injection of platelet-rich plasma
(PRP) compared with the conventional method of local corticosteroid injection in obese patients who were resis-
tant to other nonsurgical treatments. In this single-blind, randomized clinical trial, 32 obese patients with chronic
plantar heel pain were randomly allocated to 2 groups of 16 participants each. In 1 group, 40 mg of dimethylpred-
nisolone was injected once into the painful heel, whereas the other group received 3 separate injections of PRP,
with each injection administered 1 week apart. The groups were compared at baseline and at 24 weeks after the
injection, or course of injections, was administered. Exposures, total morning pain, and foot function index were
not statistically significantly different between the groups at baseline; however, at 24 weeks after the treatment,
final pain and morning pain scores were statistically significantly (p < .001) better in the corticosteroid group, and
the mean foot function index scores were 65.4 § 3.2 and 58.3 § 2.9 (p < .001) in patients treated with corticoste-
roid and PRP, respectively. In obese patients with plantar fasciitis, injection with corticosteroid was more effective
than PRP at reducing pain and improving functio