Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31421688›Full record

SynthesisBMC musculoskeletal disorders2019

Corticosteroid injection for plantar heel pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Glen A Whittaker, Shannon E Munteanu, Hylton B Menz, Daniel R Bonanno, James M Gerrard, Karl B Landorf

Open access · goldAbstract readComparative StudyMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
24citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
4.7field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

24 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 58 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Trial
  7. Trial
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Glen A WhittakerDiscipline of Podiatry, School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, 3086, Australia. g.whittaker@latrobe.edu.au.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2102-7777
Shannon E MunteanuDiscipline of Podiatry, School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, 3086, Australia.
Hylton B MenzDiscipline of Podiatry, School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, 3086, Australia.
Daniel R BonannoDiscipline of Podiatry, School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, 3086, Australia.
James M GerrardDiscipline of Podiatry, School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, 3086, Australia.
Karl B LandorfDiscipline of Podiatry, School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, 3086, Australia.
La Trobe University · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCorticosteroid injection is frequently used for plantar heel pain (plantar fasciitis), although there is limited high-quality evidence to support this treatment. Therefore, this study reviewed randomised trials to estimate the effectiveness of corticosteroid injection for plantar heel pain.

methodsA systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised trials that compared corticosteroid injection to any comparator. Primary outcomes were pain and function, categorised as short (0 to 6 weeks), medium (7 to 12 weeks) or longer term (13 to 52 weeks).

resultsA total of 47 trials (2989 participants) were included. For reducing pain in the short term, corticosteroid injection was more effective than autologous blood injection (SMD -0.56; 95% CI, - 0.86 to - 0.26) and foot orthoses (SMD -0.91; 95% CI, - 1.69 to - 0.13). There were no significant findings in the medium term. In the longer term, corticosteroid injection was less effective than dry needling (SMD 1.45; 95% CI, 0.70 to 2.19) and platelet-rich plasma injection (SMD 0.61; 95% CI, 0.16 to 1.06). Notably, corticosteroid injection was found to have similar effectiveness to placebo injection for reducing pain in the short (SMD -0.98; 95% CI, - 2.06, 0.11) and medium terms (SMD -0.86; 95% CI, - 1.90 to 0.19). For improving function, corticosteroid injection was more effective than physical therapy in the short term (SMD -0.69; 95% CI, - 1.31 to - 0.07). When trials considered to have high risk of bias were excluded, there were no significant findings.

conclusionsBased on the findings of this review, corticosteroid injection is more effective than some comparators for the reduction of pain and the improvement of function in people with plantar heel pain. However, corticosteroid injection is not more effective than placebo injection for reducing pain or improving function. Further trials that are of low risk of bias will strengthen this evidence. REGISTRATION: PROSPERO registration number CRD42016053216 .

Indexed as

Blood Transfusion, AutologousFasciitis, PlantarFoot OrthosesGlucocorticoidsHeelHumansInjections, IntralesionalMusculoskeletal PainPain ManagementPain MeasurementPlacebosPlatelet-Rich PlasmaRecovery of FunctionTreatment OutcomeGlucocorticoidsPlacebosCorticosteroid injectionMeta-analysisPlantar fasciitisPlantar heel pain

Identifiers

PMID31421688
PMCPMC6698340
OpenAlexW2968114851

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.