Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare
-
J Multidiscip Healthc · Jan 2011
Plantar fasciitis - to jab or to support? A systematic review of the current best evidence.
Plantar fasciitis is a common condition routinely managed by podiatrists in the community and is widely treated conservatively. Two commonly used treatments for plantar fasciitis are customized functional foot orthoses and corticosteroid injections. While common to clinical practice, the evidence base underpinning these treatment strategies is unknown. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review was to assess the effectiveness and safety of customized functional foot orthoses and corticosteroid injections in the treatment of plantar fasciitis. ⋯ Both customized functional foot orthoses and corticosteroid injections can lead to reduction in pain associated with plantar fasciitis. While customized functional foot orthoses may increase the functional outcomes in patients with plantar fasciitis, corticosteroid injections may have side effects (especially pain as a result of the injection), which may limit its acceptability.
-
Respiratory protection efficiency of facemasks is critically important in the battle against communicable respiratory infections such as influenza and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). We studied the spatial distributions of simulated virus-laden respiratory droplets when human subjects wore facemasks and were exposed to regulatory viral droplets by conducting in vivo experiments in facemask use. ⋯ Separating the breathing pathway from the virus-contaminated area in facemasks can provide more effective protection against communicable respiratory infections such as influenza and SARS.