Comparison of two extracorporeal shock wave therapy techniques for the treatment of painful subcalcaneal spur. A randomized controlled study

Objective: To describe and compare two extracorporeal shock wave therapy techniques for the treatment of painful subcalcaneal spur.Design: Random assignment to two groups of treatment with two and eight months follow-up.Setting: The data were collected in outpatients.Subjects: Forty-five subjects with a history of at least six months of heel pain were studied.Interventions: Each subject received a three-session ultrasound-guided extracorporeal shock wave therapy (performed weekly). Perpendicular technique was used in group A (n=22, mean age 59.3 ± 12 years) and tangential technique was used in group B (n= 23, mean age 58.8 ± 12.3 years).Main outcome measures: Mayo Clinical Scoring System was used to evaluate each subject before the treatment and at two and eight months follow-up.Results: Mayo Clinical Scoring System pretreatment scores were homogeneous between the groups (group A 55.2 ±18.7; group B 53.5 ± 20; P>0.05). In both groups there was a significant (P<0.05) increase in the Mayo Clinical Scoring S...