ClinicalTrials.gg
WithdrawnNCT01957631Updated Aug 16, 2019

Comparing Steroid Injections and Platelet Rich Plasma Injections in the Treatment of Plantar Fasciitis

A Phase 2/3 interventional study of Corticosteroid injection (Bupivacaine and Depo Medrol) and Platelet rich plasma injection in Plantar Fasciitis, sponsored by King Hamad University Hospital, Bahrain. Withdrawn at 1 site in Bahrain. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2019-08-16.

Sponsored by King Hamad University Hospital, Bahrain · Phase 2/3, Interventional, and Treatment

Why this study was withdrawn
Lack of funding
Phase
Phase 2/3
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
0
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

In cases of Plantar Fasciitis not responding to conservative management, minimally invasive techniques may be used. These include platelet rich plasma injections and corticosteroid injections. Corticosteroids have long been used for symptomatic relief. However there are growth factors present in PRP injections that contribute to the healing of the pathology, and not just symptom control.

A single blind, prospective, randomized, comparative, control study will be performed. The study population consists of a total of 80 participants. They will be randomly assigned to receive either a corticosteroid injection, or a platelet rich plasma injection. Data will be collected through questionnaires and ultrasound findings. Patients will have a follow up at 3, 6, 12, and 24 weeks after they receive their injection.

02

Conditions studied

  • Plantar Fasciitis

Browse trials for

Keywords

  • Plantar Fasciitis
  • Steroid
  • Platelet rich plasma
  • Injection
  • Ultrasound
03

In context

Fasciitis, Plantar

223 studies on the registry are indexed under Fasciitis, Plantar; 58 are open to participants now.

Browse Fasciitis, Plantar studies →

Lead sponsor

King Hamad University Hospital, Bahrain is the lead sponsor of 9 studies on the registry; 1 is open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Patients aged 18+
  • Patients with Plantar Fasciitis for at least 6 months which has not responded to 6 weeks of conservative therapy
  • Patients with a visual analogue score (VAS) of more than 5 in the morning
  • Patients must be able to understand the and have the ability to follow up.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who have had repeated injections within the past 3 months, or have taken a non-steroid anti inflammatory drug during the 1 week prior to receiving an intervention
  • > 40
  • Patients with a previous foot deformity
  • Patients who have had previous foot surgery
  • History of anemia ( \< 7)
  • Confirmed diagnosis of neuropathy
  • Patients who have the inability to follow up
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(4)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

Corticosteroids (steroids)

Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.

Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.

BMI (body mass index)

Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.

What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.

Hemoglobin (Hb)

The protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. A low level is anaemia, which can cause tiredness and breathlessness. Measured in g/dL or g/L (9 g/dL is 90 g/L).

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 2 / Phase 3
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Single (Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
0 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    Corticosteroid injection

    Corticosteroid injection

    Drug: Corticosteroid injection (Bupivacaine and Depo Medrol)

  • Experimental
    Platelet rich plasma injection

    Platelet rich plasma injection

    Biological: Platelet rich plasma injection

Interventions

  • DrugCorticosteroid injection (Bupivacaine and Depo Medrol)

    The use of corticosteroid injections to treat heel pain has been a relatively common practice. They are mainly used in conjunction with other modes of conservative therapies. With a 10cc syringe, 3 mL of 0.5% Bupivacaine and 2 mL of 80mg Depo Medrol are injected into the medial calcaneal tubercle using an aseptic technique.

    Also known as: Bupivacaine, Depo Medrol

  • 10-15cc of patient's blood is drawn and centrifuged in a Rotofix 32A at 1500 cycles/minute for 5 minutes to separate the platelets from the other components of blood. 4-6cc of concentrated platelets are then re-injected into the medial calcaneal tuberosity using an aseptic technique. Sterile techniques are very important in this procedure to decrease the risk of infection.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Pain Score

    Pain will be measured using the visual analogue score (VAS). The score is a 10cm line, where each centimeter is marked between 0-10. Patients will mark the number that corresponds to their pain, where zero is no pain and 10 being the most severe pain. Every patient must at least have a pre and post intervention score recorded. Subsequent follow-ups will also require patients to fill out a VAS score. A 30% reduction between baseline and endpoint score over a period of 6 months, without the use of analgesia beyond what is allowed according to protocol, use of adjunctive conservative therapy (excluding physiotherapy), or the patient seeking alternative therapy, will deem the treatment successful. The reduction is calculated by subtracting the baseline value from the endpoint value. The percent change is determined by multiplying the reduction by 100 and dividing by 10.

    Time frame: 6 months

Secondary outcomes

  1. Ultrasound findings

    All patients will have an ultrasound pre and three and six months post intervention. The thickness of the plantar fascia will be measured. Any decrease in the thickness will be taken into account and contributed to a successful intervention

    Time frame: 3 months

07

Study locations

1 site
  • King Hamad University Hospital
    Muharraq, Bahrain
08

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
Not marked actual or estimatedDates not marked actual or estimated

The record gives a start of Jun 2013, a primary completion of Jun 2019 and a completion of Sep 2019. It does not say whether these dates are actual or estimated.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Sep 30, 2013
First posted
Oct 8, 2013
Start
Jun 2013
Primary completionEst.
Jun 2019
CompletionEst.
Sep 2019
Last update
Aug 16, 2019
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Aug 16, 2019, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT01957631
Lead sponsor
King Hamad University Hospital, Bahrain
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Oct 8, 2013
Start date
Jun 2013
Primary completion
Jun 2019 (estimated)
Completion
Sep 2019 (estimated)
Last update
Aug 16, 2019

Study contacts

Ahsan J Butt
principal investigator · King Hamad University Hospital, Bahrain
Aamina M Khan
principal investigator · King Hamad University Hospital, Bahrain

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is withdrawn, as verified in Aug 2019. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Sign in to follow

Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.

Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.

Studies of the drug tested here: Platelet rich plasma

Start the discussion