{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T01:36:00Z","timestamp":1789436160982,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"21","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,23]],"date-time":"2021-10-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1634947200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Akademii Wychowania Fizycznego im. Jerzego Kukuczki w Katowicach","award":["AWF\u2013Fiz 3\/2021"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["AWF\u2013Fiz 3\/2021"]}]},{"name":"Wroc\u0142aw Medical University","award":["SUB.E020.21.002"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["SUB.E020.21.002"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Calcaneal spur and plantar fasciitis are the most common causes of plantar heel pain. There are many effective physical modalities for treating this musculoskeletal disorder. So far, the are no clear recommendations confirming the clinical utility of high-intensity laser therapy (HILT) in the management of painful calcaneal spur with plantar fasciitis. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of HILT in pain management in patients with calcaneal spur and plantar fasciitis. A group of 65 patients was assessed for eligibility based on the CONSORT guidelines. This study was prospectively registered in the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry platform (registration number ACTRN12618000744257, 3 May 2018). The main eligibility criteria were: cancer, pregnancy, electronic and metal implants, acute infections, impaired blood coagulation, cardiac arrhythmias, taking analgesic or anti-inflammatory medications, non-experience of heel pain, or presence of other painful foot conditions. Finally, 60 patients were randomly assigned into two groups: study group (n = 30, mean age 59.9 \u00b1 10.1), treated with HILT (7 W, 149.9 J\/cm2, 1064 nm, 4496 J, 12 min), and placebo-controlled group (n = 30, mean age 60.4 \u00b1 11.9), treated with sham HILT therapy. Both groups received ultrasound treatments (0.8 W\/cm2, 1 MHz frequency, 100% load factor, 5 min). Treatment procedures were performed once a day, five times per week for three weeks (total of 15 treatment sessions). Study outcomes focused on pain intensity and were assessed before (M1) and after (M2) the treatment as well as after 4 (M3) and 12 (M4) weeks using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and the Laitinen Pain Scale (LPS). According to VAS, a statistically significant decrease in the study group was observed between M1 and M2 by 3.5 pts, M1 and M3 by 3.7 pts, and M1 and M4 by 3.2 pts (p &lt; 0.001). On the other hand, the control group showed a statistically significant decrease (p &lt; 0.001) between M1 and M2 by 3.0 pts, M1 and M3 by 3.4 pts, and M1 and M4 by 3.2 pts. According to LPS, a statistically significant decrease in the study group was observed between M1 and M2 by 3.9 pts, M1 and M3 by 4.2 pts, and M1 and M4 by 4.0 pts (p &lt; 0.001). On the other hand, the control group showed a statistically significant decrease between M1 and M2 by 3.2 pts (p = 0.002), M1 and M3 by 4.0 pts (p &lt; 0.001), and M1 and M4 by 3.9 pts (p &lt; 0.001). However, there were no statistically significant differences between the groups in VAS and LPS (p &gt; 0.05). In conclusion, the HILT does not appear to be more effective in pain management of patients with calcaneal spurs and plantar fasciitis than the conservative standard physiotherapeutic procedures.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm10214891","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,24]],"date-time":"2021-10-24T22:06:16Z","timestamp":1635113176000},"page":"4891","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":18,"title":["A Randomised-Controlled Clinical Study Examining the Effect of High-Intensity Laser Therapy (HILT) on the Management of Painful Calcaneal Spur with Plantar Fasciitis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"10","author":[{"given":"Piotr","family":"Tkocz","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Health Sciences, University of Opole, 45-060 Opole, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tomasz","family":"Matusz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Health Sciences, University of Opole, 45-060 Opole, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"\u0141ukasz","family":"Kosowski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Health Sciences, University of Opole, 45-060 Opole, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4272-8978","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Karolina","family":"Walewicz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Health Sciences, University of Opole, 45-060 Opole, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"\u0141ukasz","family":"Argier","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Health Sciences, University of Opole, 45-060 Opole, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Micha\u0142","family":"Kuszewski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Physiotherapy and Health Sciences, Academy of Physical Education, 40-065 Katowice, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Magdalena","family":"Hagner-Derengowska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial Management, Nicolaus Copernicus University, 87-100 Torun, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5690-5226","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kuba","family":"Ptaszkowski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiotherapy, Wroclaw Medical University, 50-355 Wroclaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2806-1775","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Robert","family":"Dymarek","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiotherapy, Wroclaw Medical University, 50-355 Wroclaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1796-5832","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jakub","family":"Taradaj","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Physiotherapy and Health Sciences, Academy of Physical Education, 40-065 Katowice, Poland"},{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation, TOMMED Medical Center, 40-662 Katowice, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1989","DOI":"10.1007\/s10103-020-02999-z","article-title":"Dose-Dependent Effect of the Pulsed Nd:YAG Laser in the Treatment of Crushed Sciatic Nerve in Wister Rats: An Experimental Model","volume":"35","author":"Alayat","year":"2020","journal-title":"Lasers Med. 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