Table 2 Characteristics of included studies
| Trial | Design |
Number allocated to experimental and control groups |
Mean age in years (SD) | % Female |
Mean duration of disease in months (SD) |
Exclusion criteria |
Criteria used to identify the MTrP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Tillu and
Gupta (1998) |
Quasi-experimental (one group) | Experimental = 18 | 49.1 (10.7) | 72.3% | 25.1 (10.7) |
History of heel surgery or cortisone injection in last three months | No criteria used |
|
Imamura
et al. (1998) |
Quasi-experimental (two groups, non-randomised) |
Experimental = 15 (Actual number is unclear but it would appear that 20 were recruited and 5 dropped out) Control = 9 at discharge. |
Experimental: 50.0 (12.2) Control: 44.0 (NR) | 89.7% | 27.0 (NR) | NR |
MTrP identified via palpation (local tenderness and taut band) |
|
Perez-Millan
and Foster (2001) |
Quasi-experimental (one group) | Experimental = 11 | 39.5 (12.7) | 72.8% | 39.0 (5.0) | NR | NR |