Responsiveness of Heel Pain, Foot Function Index, Tissue Thickness, and Blood Flow in Individuals with Plantar Fasciitis

Abstract

Background. The responsiveness is a psychometric property for determining the abil-ity of clinical outcomes to detect the change of condition over time. This study inves-tigated the responsiveness of heel pain, Foot Function Index (FFI), tissue thickness (plantar fascia and flexor digitorum brevis), blood flow, and temperature in individuals with plantar fasciitis. Methods. The data of 30 individuals with plantar fasciitis, aged 46.67 ± 10.46 years, were collected. Heel pain, FFI, tissue thickness, blood flow, and temperature were assessed at pre-test and after the 3-week interventions. The responsiveness of each variable was analyzed. Results. The large responsive variable in individuals with plantar fasciitis determined by the effect size (ES) was the FFI pain scale (ES, 1.53) and heel pain (ES, 1.36). Conclusions. Regarding responsiveness, heel pain, and FFI significantly changed following the 3-week intervention program rather than tissue thickness, blood flow, and temperature in individuals with plantar fasciitis.