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 |