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VOLUME 9 , ISSUE 1 ( January-March, 2022 ) > List of Articles

Original Article

Clinical Experience with Gastrocnemius Recession Surgery in Chronic Plantar Fasciitis

Rahul Upadhyay, Jitesh Jain, Divyanshu Goyal

Keywords : American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Score Ankle-hindfoot score, Functional, Gastrocnemius recession, Gastrocnemius tightness, Heel pain, Plantar fasciitis, Visual analog pain score, Visual analog score

Citation Information : Upadhyay R, Jain J, Goyal D. Clinical Experience with Gastrocnemius Recession Surgery in Chronic Plantar Fasciitis. J Foot Ankle Surg Asia-Pacific 2022; 9 (1):21-24.

DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10040-1177

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

Published Online: 31-12-2021

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2022; The Author(s).


Abstract

Aim and objective: In this study, we evaluated functional outcomes in patients treated with gastrocnemius recession for chronic plantar fasciitis due to isolated gastrocnemius tightness. Materials and methods: In this prospective study, 20 patients with chronic plantar fasciitis due to isolated gastrocnemius tightness were included. Non-conservative treatment was given to all patients for 9 months. After the trial of conservative treatment, 20 patients who did not respond well were operated for gastrocnemius (18 open and 2 endoscopic procedures). American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Score (AOFAS) was calculated at 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 9 months. Visual analog score (VAS) was recorded at 9 months. At final follow-up at 9 months, patients were asked to choose satisfaction level in terms of high/partial/low and would they recommend this surgery to their friends and if they would go for the same for the opposite limb. Results: Visual analog score improved from 7.2 to 1.2 (p value < 0.0001). The difference of the AOFAS at final follow-up (9 months) was found to be highly significant with a pre-op score of 49.4 to a final score as high as 93.3 (p value < 0.0001). Patient satisfaction level was calculated with relation to the AOFAS. High satisfaction was observed in 18 patients and partial satisfaction in 2 patients. Conclusion: Gastrocnemius recession done for isolated gastrocnemius tightness causing chronic plantar fasciitis provides statistically significant improvement without any major complications with a short recovery period.

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