Objective:

To evaluate the clinical outcomes of endoscopic plantar fasciotomy and endoscopic partial plantar fascia detachment in patients with refractory plantar fasciitis.

Approach:

• Study Design: A single-center retrospective comparative study involving 33 patients with refractory plantar fasciitis.
• Patient Groups: 14 patients underwent endoscopic plantar fasciotomy and 19 patients underwent endoscopic partial plantar fascia detachment.
• Outcome Measures: Clinical outcomes were assessed using VAS, AOFAS scores, and SF-36 questionnaire at postoperative intervals of 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year.

Key Findings:

• No significant differences in age, disease duration, osteophyte presence, body mass index, and operation time between the two groups.
• Postoperative VAS scores: 4.76 ± 1.49 (fascial release) vs. 2.97 ± 1.30 (partial detachment), mean difference: −1.79, 95% CI: (−6.01, 2.41), P = 0.3911.
• Postoperative AOFAS scores: 84.74 ± 1.19 (fascial release) vs. 81.71 ± 1.21 (partial detachment), mean difference: −3.02, 95% CI: (−7.17, 1.12), P = 0.0471.
• Postoperative SF-36 scores: 527.4 ± 10.46 (fascial release) vs. 515.6 ± 11.71 (partial detachment), mean difference: −11.73, 95% CI: (−55.66, 32.20), P = 0.0491.
• Patients in the endoscopic plantar fasciotomy group had better SF-36 and AOFAS scores at 3 and 6 months post-surgery.

Interpretation:

Limitations:

• Small sample size of 33 patients.
• Single-center study may limit generalizability.

Conclusion: