Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40724609›Full record

ReviewLife (Basel, Switzerland)2025

Comparison of Effectiveness Between Ultrasound-Guided and Blind Corticosteroid Injections in Plantar Fasciitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Hoa Ngan Doan, Yoo Jin Choo, Min Cheol Chang

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Life (Basel, Switzerland), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Hoa Ngan DoanDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University, Daegu 42415, Republic of Korea.
Yoo Jin ChooDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University, Daegu 42415, Republic of Korea.ORCID 0000-0002-3820-2279
Min Cheol ChangDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University, Daegu 42415, Republic of Korea.ORCID 0000-0002-7629-7213

Funding

National Research Foundation of Korea (MSIT) RS-2023-00219725
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The effectiveness of ultrasound (US)-guided compared with blind corticosteroid injections for the treatment of plantar fasciitis (PF) remains uncertain. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the clinical benefits of US-guided over blind injections in patients with PF. A systematic search of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus was conducted, collecting articles published up to 20 April 2025. Randomized controlled trials comparing US-guided and blind corticosteroid injections for PF were included. The extracted outcome measures, i.e., visual analog scale (VAS), heel tenderness index (HTI), tenderness threshold (TT), and plantar fascia thickness, were assessed at short- (2-6 weeks) and long-term (≥12 weeks) follow-ups. Compared with the blind injection group, the US-guided group showed significantly greater improvement in TT at both short- and long-term follow-ups, as well as a greater reduction in plantar fascia thickness. However, no significant differences were found between the two groups in VAS and HTI scores. US-guided corticosteroid injections provide superior clinical benefits compared with blind injections in patients with PF, particularly in enhancing mechanical pain tolerance and reducing plantar fascia thickness. Nevertheless, these findings should be interpreted with caution due to the limited methodological quality of the included studies.

Indexed as

blind injectioncorticosteroid injectionplantar fascia thicknessplantar fasciitistenderness thresholdultrasound-guided injection

Identifiers

PMID40724609
PMCPMC12298417

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Registered trials

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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.