The Effect of Addition of Buffered Dextrose 5% Solution on Pain Occurring During Local Steroid Injection for Treatment of Plantar Fasciitis: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective. To evaluate the potential immediate analgesic effect of addition of 5% dextrose water (D5W) during local steroid injection for treatment of plantar fasciitis (PF). Methods. In this single blind study, 122 patients with PF were randomly assigned to receive either 40 mg triamcinolone acetonide/1ml + 0.5ml. lidocaine 2% (group A: 61 patients; 73 heels) or 40mg triamcinolone acetonide/1ml+0.5ml. lidocaine2%+ 0.5ml. buffered D5W (group B: 61 patients; 69 heels) as a local injection using the medial approach. Visual analogue scale (VAS 0-10) was used to assess the degree of pain intensity during the injection. Results. The mean for age was 42.56 years in group A and 43.39 years in group B (P = 0.86), the female to male ratio was 2.8-1 in both groups and the mean for BMI was 31.49 in group A and 30.86 in group B (P=0.51). A significant difference in VAS was observed; the mean was 8.26 +/- 2.00 in group A and 4.2512.05 in group B (P <0.0001) with a confidence interval (95% CI) of 7.78 -8.74 for group A and 3.76 - 4.72 for group B. Conclusions. The addition of 0.5 ml. D5W can decrease the pain associated with local steroid injection for treatment of PF.