Efficacy of TECAR Therapy in Plantar Fasciitis

Participants will receive active TECAR therapy for 15 minutes per session (5 minutes in capacitive mode and 10 minutes in resistive mode), 5 days per week for 2 weeks (10 sessions), using the BTL TECAR Therapy device. All participants will also perform a standardized exercise program consisting of plantar fascia and calf stretching and intrinsic foot muscle strengthening exercises.

Device: Capacitive and Resistive Energy Transfer (TECAR) therapy · Other: Standardized Exercise Program

Participants will receive sham TECAR therapy using the same device and application procedure without therapeutic energy delivery, for 15 minutes per session, 5 days per week for 2 weeks (10 sessions). All participants will perform the same standardized exercise program as the active treatment group.

Device: Sham Capacitive and Resistive Energy Transfer (TECAR) Therapy · Other: Standardized Exercise Program

Active TECAR therapy will be administered using the BTL TECAR Therapy device for 15 minutes per session, 5 days per week for 2 weeks (10 sessions). Each session will consist of 5 minutes of capacitive mode followed by 10 minutes of resistive mode. Treatment will be applied along the plantar fascia of the symptomatic foot, focusing on the medial calcaneal insertion, using conductive cream and continuous probe movement. The intensity will be adjusted to produce a comfortable, mild thermal sensation without pain.

Sham TECAR therapy will be administered using the same device, probe, and application procedure as the active treatment for 15 minutes per session, 5 days per week for 2 weeks (10 sessions). The device will not deliver any energy during sham treatment. The application will otherwise be identical to the active treatment procedure.

All participants will receive a standardized exercise program consisting of plantar fascia stretching, gastrocnemius and soleus stretching, and intrinsic foot muscle strengthening (short-foot exercises). Exercises will be performed three times daily. Stretching exercises will consist of 10 repetitions held for 10-15 seconds, while strengthening exercises will consist of 10-15 repetitions.

Plazo: Baseline (pre-treatment), 2 weeks (end of treatment), and 6 weeks after treatment completion.

Morning first-step pain will be assessed using a 10-centimeter (cm) Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Scores range from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst imaginable pain); higher scores indicate more severe pain (a worse outcome). Changes in pain intensity will be evaluated from baseline to each follow-up time point.

Plazo: Baseline (pre-treatment), 2 weeks (end of treatment), and 6 weeks after treatment completion.

General pain intensity will be assessed using a 10-centimeter (cm) Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Scores range from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst imaginable pain); higher scores indicate more severe pain (a worse outcome).

Plazo: Baseline (pre-treatment), 2 weeks (end of treatment), and 6 weeks after treatment completion.

Pain during activity will be assessed using a 10-centimeter (cm) Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Scores range from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst imaginable pain); higher scores indicate more severe pain (a worse outcome).

Plazo: Baseline (pre-treatment), 2 weeks (end of treatment), and 6 weeks after treatment completion.

Foot-related pain, disability, and activity limitation will be evaluated using the Foot Function Index (FFI), which consists of pain, disability, and activity limitation subscales. The total score ranges from 0 to 100; higher scores indicate greater foot-related impairment (a worse outcome).

Plazo: Baseline (pre-treatment), 2 weeks (end of treatment), and 6 weeks after treatment completion.

Pressure pain threshold (PPT) will be measured using a pressure algometer at the most painful region of the plantar heel and recorded in kilograms per square centimeter (kg/cm²). Higher values indicate a higher pain threshold, i.e., lower pressure pain sensitivity (a better outcome).

Plazo: Baseline (pre-treatment) and 6 weeks after treatment completion.

Plantar fascia thickness will be measured by ultrasonography at the calcaneal insertion and recorded in millimeters (mm). Greater thickness indicates more pronounced plantar fascia thickening (a worse outcome); a decrease in thickness indicates improvement.

Plazo: Baseline (pre-treatment), 2 weeks (end of treatment), and 6 weeks after treatment completion.

Health-related quality of life will be assessed using the EuroQol 5-Dimension 5-Level (EQ-5D-5L) questionnaire, which covers five dimensions (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression), each rated on five levels of severity. Responses will be converted into a single EQ-5D-5L index score using the United Kingdom (UK) time trade-off (TTO) value set (Rowen et al., 2026). The index score ranges from -0.567 (worst health state) to 1 (full health), where 0 represents a state equivalent to death and negative values represent states considered worse than death. Higher scores indicate better health-related quality of life (a better outcome).

Efficacy of Capacitive and Resistive Energy Transfer (TECAR) Therapy in Plantar Fasciitis: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Sham-Controlled Clinical Trial