Plantar fasciitis is a common cause of heel pain, and although stretching exercises are a standard first-line treatment, current evidence on adding proprioception or knee-strengthening exercises remains limited. This study investigates whether adding knee strengthening or proprioception exercises to a standard stretching program improves pain, function, and disability in patients with chronic plantar fasciitis, and whether these interventions produce measurable changes in the biomechanical and kinesiological properties of the foot, ankle, and knee.
Age between 18 and 65 years.
Formal diagnosis of plantar fasciitis, characterized by sharp pain during the first steps in the morning, pain that increases with prolonged activity, localized tenderness on palpation of the medial calcaneal tubercle or proximal fascia, and a positive Windlass test.
Symptom duration of at least 3 months.
Heel pain intensity score of Visual Analog Scale (VAS) > 3.
History of acute lower-extremity trauma.
History of prior foot or ankle surgery.
Corticosteroid injection to the affected heel within the preceding 6 months.
Presence of systemic inflammatory or rheumatologic disease.