Highlights
- •Plantar fasciitis pain prevalence was presented for United State adults.
- •Most individuals with plantar fasciitis reported at least moderate daily pain.
- •Disease severity was associated with pharmaceutical therapy.
- •Black individuals and those diagnosed by medical specialists had severer disease.
- •These 2 groups were also more likely to receive pharmaceutical therapy.
Abstract
This study provides prevalence estimates of plantar fasciitis in U.S. adults, as well
as the types and frequencies of pharmaceutical treatment specifically for this pain.
Data are from the 2013 National Health and Wellness Survey, a large (n = 75,000) internet
panel survey designed to approximate the adult U.S. population. Strengths of associations
are determined using multivariable logistic regression. It was estimated that .85%
(95% confidence interval [CI] = .77–.92) of the sample reported diagnosed plantar
fasciitis with pain in the past month. Higher prevalence of plantar fasciitis was
seen in women (1.19%; referent) versus men (.47%), in those aged 45 to 64 (1.33%)
versus those aged 18 to 44 (.53%; referent) years, and in the obese (1.48%) versus
those with a body mass <25 (.29%; referent). Prescription medications for pain were
used by 41.04% of plantar fasciitis respondents, but only 6.31% attributed this use
specifically to plantar fasciitis pain. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (4.01%)
and opioids (2.21%) were the most prevalent prescription drugs used specifically for
plantar fasciitis pain. Almost 70% of individuals with plantar fasciitis used over
the counter (OTC) analgesics for general pain management, with OTC nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory
drugs being used by 49.47% and acetaminophen by 26.93% of respondents. Individuals
diagnosed by medical specialists had twice the odds of using prescription drugs as
those diagnosed by other providers (odds ratio = 2.12; 95% CI = 1.01–4.46). Non-Hispanic
black individuals were more likely to use prescription pain medications specifically
for plantar fasciitis pain than non-Hispanic white individuals (odds ratio = 3.02;
95% CI = 1.05–8.70).
Perspective
The current study provides additional insights into the pain and disability associated
with plantar fasciitis, as well as the pharmaceutical treatments being used for its
management. Prescription as well as OTC medications are used to manage plantar fasciitis
symptoms despite limited, if any, clinical trial data supporting their use.
Key words
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to The Journal of PainAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Foot musculoskeletal disorders, pain, and foot-related functional limitation in older persons.J Am Geriatr Soc. 2005; 53: 1029-1033
- A comparative study of efficacy of oral nonsteroidal antiinflammatory agents and locally injectable steroid for the treatment of plantar fasciitis.Anesth Essays Res. 2001; 5: 158-161
- Association of insomnia with quality of life, work productivity, and activity impairment.Qual Life Res. 2009; 18: 415-422
- Pain management by primary care physicians, pain physicians, chiropractors, and acupuncturists: a national survey.South Med J. 2010; 103: 738-747
- Clinical practice. Plantar fasciitis.N Engl J Med. 2004; 350: 2159-2166
- Foot disorders and falls in older persons.Gerontology. 2009; 55: 296-302
- The effectiveness and risks of long-term opioid therapy for chronic pain: A systematic review for a National Institutes of Health Pathways to Prevention Workshop.Ann Intern Med. 2015; 16: 276-286
- The efficacy of oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication (NSAID) in the treatment of plantar fasciitis: A randomized, prospective, placebo-controlled study.Foot Ankle Int. 2007; 28: 20-23
- Prevalence of foot and ankle conditions in a multiethnic community sample of older adults.Am J Epidemiol. 2004; 159: 491-498
- Utilization of physical therapy intervention among patients with plantar fasciitis in the United States.J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2017; 47: 49-55
- Relieving Pain in American: A Blueprint for Transforming Prevention, Care, Education and Research.The National Academies Press., Washington, DC2011
- Factors associated with chronic plantar heelpain: A systematic review.J Sci Med Sport. 2006; 9: 11-22
- Obesity and pronated foot type may increase the risk of chronic plantar heel pain: A matched case-control study.BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2007; 8: 41-49
- Impact of chronic plantar heel pain on health-related quality of life.J Am Podiatr Med Assoc. 2008; 98: 283-289
- Trends in ambulatory physician opioid prescription in the United States, 1997–2009.PM R. 2014; 6: 575-582
- Clinical presentation and self-reported patterns of pain and function in patients with plantar heel pain.Foot Ankle Int. 2012; 33: 693-698
- Plantar fasciitis: A degenerative process (fasciosis) without inflammation.J Am Podiatr Med Assoc. 2003; 93: 234-237
- Trends in opioid analgesic-prescribing rates by specialty, U.S., 2007–2012.Am J Prev Med. 2015; 49: 409-413
- What are the main running-related musculoskeletal injuries? A systematic review.Sports Med. 2012; 42: 891-905
- American Physical Therapy Association. Heel pain-plantar fasciitis: Revision 2014.J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2014; 44: A1-A33
- Time to take stock: A meta-analysis and systematic review of analgesic treatment disparities for pain in the United States.Pain Med. 2012; 13: 150-174
- Plantar fasciitis in Australian general practice.Aust Fam Physician. 2015; 44: 90-91
- Specialty of prescribers associated with prescription opioid fatalities in Utah, 2002–2010.Pain Med. 2014; 15: 73-78
- Correlation of heel pain with body mass index and other characteristics of heel pain.J Foot Ankle Surg. 2001; 40: 351-356
- Risk factors for plantar fasciitis: A matched case-control study.J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2003; 85-A: 872-877
- Impact of demographic and impairment-related variables on disability associated with plantar fasciitis.Foot Ankle Int. 2004; 25: 311-317
- Volume of ambulatory care visits and patterns of care for patients diagnosed with plantar fasciitis: A national study of medical doctors.Foot Ankle Int. 2004; 25: 303-310
- Differential prescribing of opioid analgesics according to physician specialty for Medicaid patients with chronic noncancer pain diagnoses.Pain Res Manag. 2014; 19: 179-185
- The incidence of plantar fasciitis in the United States military.J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2009; 91: 2867-2872
- Epidemiology of ankle and foot overuse injuries in sports: A systematic review.Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2013; 23: 669-686
- The risk of major NSAID toxicity with celecoxib, ibuprofen, or naproxen: A secondary analysis of the PRECISION trial.Am J Med. 2017; 130: 1415-1422
- Overuse injuries in high school runners: Lifetime prevalence and prevention strategies.PM R. 2011; 3: 125-131
- Standard Definitions: Final Dispositions of Case Codes and Outcome Rates for Surveys.8th ed. AAPOR, 2015 (Available at:)https://www.aapor.org/AAPOR_Main/media/MainSiteFiles/Standard-Definitions2015_8thEd.pdfDate accessed: May 4, 2017
- American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons heel pain committee. The diagnosis and treatment of heel pain: A clinical practice guideline-revision 2010.J Foot Ankle Surg. 2010; 49: S1-S19
- Diagnosis and management of plantar fasciitis.J Am Osteopath Assoc. 2014; 114: 900-906
- Economic burden of plantar fasciitis treatment in the United States.Am J Orthop (Belle Mead NJ). 2010; 39: 227-231
- Higher body mass index is associated with plantar fasciopathy/‘plantar fasciitis’: Systematic review and meta-analysis of various clinical and imaging risk factors.Br J Sports Med. 2016; 50: 972-981
- Opioid prescribing practices in chronic pain management: Guidelines do not sufficiently influence clinical practice.J Pain. 2009; 10: 1051-1057
- Risk factors for plantar fasciitis among assembly plant workers.PM R. 2010; 2: 110-116
- Conservative treatment of plantar heel pain: Long-term follow-up.Foot Ankle Int. 1994; 15: 97-102
- A unified approach to measuring the effect size between two groups using SAS SAS Global Forum.(Available at:)http://support.sas.com/resources/papers/proceedings12/335-2012.pdfDate accessed: February 15, 2018
- American Community Survey.(Available at:)https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_13_3YR_DP05&prodType=tableDate accessed: December 4, 2017
Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 26, 2018
Accepted:
March 14,
2018
Received in revised form:
March 1,
2018
Received:
January 5,
2018
Footnotes
The author performed this work as part of his official federal duties. No outside financial support was provided.
The author has no conflicts of interest to declare.
Identification
Copyright
Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of the American Pain Society
