Objective: To investigate the clinical effect the treatment of arthroscopy-assisted calcaneal spur resection combined with plantar fascia release and calcaneal decompression in the treatment of the patients with intractable calcaneal pain.
Methods: The clinical data of 50 patients with intractable heel pain from January 2016 to January 2019 were retrospectively analyzed, including 20 males and 30 females;aged from 40 to 68 years old with an average of (50.12±7.35)years old, the medical history ranged from 1 to 4 years. All patients underwent arthroscopy-assisted calcaneal spur resection combined with plantar fascia release and calcaneal decompression, and were followed up, the duration ranged from 24 to 60 months with an average of(42.00±3.28) months. All patients had obvious heel pain before surgery, and X-ray examinations often showed the presence of calcaneal spurs. In addition to the routine foot examination, the changes in the height and angle of the arch of the foot were also measured pre and post-operatively by X-ray, for the evaluation of clinical effect. The VAS system was used to evaluate the degree of foot pain;the AOFAS scoring system was used to comprehensively evaluate the foot pain, voluntary movement, gait and stability.
Results: The VAS decreased from (8.75±1.24) before surgery to (5.15±2.35) at 3 months after surgery, (4.07±2.53) at 6 months after surgery, and (3.95±2.44) at the last fllow-up(P<0.05). The AOFAS score increased from (53.46±4.17) before surgery to(92.46±2.53) at 3 months after surgery, (96.33±2.46) at 6 months after surgery, and (97.05±2.37) at the last follow-up(P<0.05). The arch height was (41.54±1.15) mm before operation and (41.49±1.09) mm after the operation, the difference was not statistically significant(P>0.05). The internal arch angle of the foot arch was (121±6)° before operation and (122±7)° after operation. The difference was not statistically significant(P>0.05).
Conclusion: Arthroscopy-assisted calcaneal bone spurs resection combined with plantar fascia release and calcaneal decompression exhibited great clinical effect for treating intractable heel.
Keywords: Arthroscopy; Bone spurs; Calcaneal pain; Plantar fascia.