ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.
Sec. Biomechanics
Study on the Multi-parameter Combination Analysis and Quantitative Evaluation of the Efficacy of Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy for Plantar Fasciitis
Provisionally accepted
- 1Ningxia University, Yinchuan, China
- 2North Minzu University, Yinchuan, China
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Background: Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is an effective non-invasive treatment for plantar fasciitis (PF) that relieves chronic pain, promotes tissue healing, and improves function, and is particularly suitable for cases unresponsive to conservative management. Compared with surgery, ESWT is less invasive, more cost-effective, and has demonstrated favorable long-term outcomes. Aim of the Study: To address the limited reliability of subjective scales and the clinical translation difficulties of laboratory gait analysis in current efficacy evaluation of ESWT for PF, we propose a monocular-vision, multi-parameter combination framework for multidimensional decoupling assessment of gait dynamics. Methods: Using a monocular RGB camera, we recorded a total of 633 gait videos from 23 PF patients before and after ESWT intervention. Lower-limb kinematic parameters were extracted with the CtransPose pose-estimation algorithm and dimensionality reduction and reconstruction were performed by principal component analysis (PCA). Five core functional dimensions explaining a cumulative variance of 89.18% were successfully extracted, and a theoretical framework for multidimensional coupling of gait features was established. Results: The primary efficacy dimension (PC1) improved significantly after treatment: step length increased from 0.33 [0.30, 0.39] m to 0.37 [0.29, 0.44] m, stride length increased from 0.59 [0.52, 0.69] m to 0.63 [0.55, 0.75] m, and walking speed increased from 0.59 [0.48, 0.67] m/s to 0.62 [0.55, 0.75] m/s (all P < 0.05). The coordinated improvement of these objective parameters suggests that ESWT may effectively restore basic propulsion-phase locomotor function by alleviating pain. The gait-optimization dimension (PC3) reflected a pattern of improved gait efficiency, characterized by significantly increased walking speed (P < 0.001) while cadence remained unchanged, reflecting release of pain-avoidance strategies. The swing-control dimension (PC5) showed a significant reduction in maximum swing angle (P = 0.003), indicating a favorable transformation in swing control mechanisms.
Keywords: Extracorporeal shock wave therapy, Plantar fasciitis, Principal componentanalysis, gait analysis, efficacy evaluation
Received: 07 Aug 2025; Accepted: 29 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhao, 杜, Xiang, Tan, Hu, Yang and Wei. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jing Zhao
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