Table 1.
Main characteristics of the 14 included articles.
| OBS | Study | Study Design | Treatment (Energy) | Use of Local Anesthesia | Number of Patients | Mean Age (Year) | Intensity (mJ/mm2) | Follow-Up Times | Extracted Outcome Data | Definition of Success |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rompe et al. 1996 | NA, RCT | FSW (low) | No | 50 | 44.0 | 0.08 | 3 and 13 months | VAS | |
| Placebo | 50 | 49.0 | ||||||||
| 2 | Rompe et al. 2003 | SB, RCT | FSW (medium) | No | 22 | 43.0 | 0.16 | 6 and 12 months | Success rate and VAS | >50% improvement of pain during the first few minutes of walking scored on VAS |
| Placebo | 23 | 40.0 | ||||||||
| 3 | Speed et al. 2003 | DB, RCT | FSW (medium) | No | 46 | 51.7 | 0.12 | 1, 2, 3, and 6 months | VAS | |
| Placebo | 42 | 52.5 | ||||||||
| 4 | Haake et al. 2003 | DB, RCT | SW (low) | Yes | 129 | NA | 0.08 | 6 weeks, 3 months, and 12 months | Success rate | Roles and Maudsley score 1 or 2 |
| Placebo | 132 | NA | ||||||||
| 5 | Ogden et al. 2004 | DB, RCT | FSW (high) | Yes | 144 | NA | 0.22 | 3 months | Success rate | >50% improvement of pain scored on VAS and VAS of <=4 |
| Placebo | 141 | NA | ||||||||
| 6 | Theodore et al. 2004 | DB, RCT | FSW (high) | Yes | 73 | 50.0 | 0.36 | 6 weeks and 3 months | Success rate and VAS | Roles and Maudsley score 1 or 2 |
| Placebo | 73 | 53.0 | ||||||||
| 7 | Kudo et al. 2006 | DB, RCT | FSW (high) | Yes | 53 | 51.1 | 0.64 | 3 months | Success rate and VAS | >60% improvement of pain during the first few minutes of walking scored on VAS |
| Placebo | 52 | 48.8 | ||||||||
| 8 | Gollwitzer et al. 2007 | DB, RCT | FSW (high) | No | 20 | 53.9 | 0.25 | 3 months | Success rate and VAS | Roles and Maudsley score 1 or 2 |
| Placebo | 20 | 58.9 | ||||||||
| 9 | Gerdesmeyer et al. 2008 | DB, RCT | RSW (medium) | No | 123 | 52.4 | 0.16 | 3 and 12 months | Success rate | >60% from baseline at follow-up after treatment for at least 2 of the 3 heel pain (VAS) measurements |
| Placebo | 116 | 52.0 | ||||||||
| 10 | Marks et al. 2008 | DB, RCT | RSW (medium) | No | 16 | 51.9 | 0.16 | 6 months | Success rate | >50% improvement of pain scored on VAS |
| Placebo | 9 | 51.7 | ||||||||
| 11 | Gollwitzer et al. 2015 | DB, RCT | FSW (high) | No | 125 | 50.0 | 0.25 | 3 months | Success rate | >60% from baseline at follow-up after treatment for at least 2 of the 3 heel pain (VAS) measurements. |
| Placebo | 121 | 47.4 | ||||||||
| 12 | Hawamdeh et al. 2016 | SB, RCT | RSW (high) | No | 12 | NA | 0.25 | 3 weeks | VAS | |
| Placebo | 12 | NA | ||||||||
| 13 | Ibrahim et al. 2017 | DB, RCT | RSW (medium) | No | 25 | 56.6 | 0.16 | 1, 3, 6, and 13 months | VAS | |
| Placebo | 25 | 49.1 | ||||||||
| 14 | Takla et al. 2019 | SB, RCT | FSW (high) | No | 30 | NA | 0.22–0.28 | 3 weeks and 3 months | VAS | |
| Placebo | 30 | NA |
NA: not available; SB: single-blind; DB: double-blind; RCT: randomized controlled trail; RSW: radial shockwave; FSW: focused shockwave; VAS: visual analog.