Abstract
The purpose of the work reported here was to describe the sonoelastographic appearance of the plantar fascia of healthy volunteers and patients with fasciitis. Twenty-three healthy subjects and 21 patients with plantar fasciitis were examined using B-mode and real-time sonoelastography (RTSR) scanning. B-Mode examination included fascia thickness and echotexture. Echogenicity and echovariation of the color histogram were analyzed. Fasciae were classified into type 1, blue (more elastic); type 2, blue/green (intermediate); or type 3, green (less elastic). RTSE revealed 72.7% of fasciae as type 2, with no significant association with fasciitis (c253.6, df 52, p 50.17). Quantitative analysis of the color histogram revealed a significantly greater intensity of green (mean577.8, 95% confidence interval [CI]571.9–83.6) and blue (mean574.2, 95% CI569.7–78.8) in healthy subjects. Echovariation of the color red was 33.4%higher in the fasciitis group than in the healthy group (95% CI516.7–50.1)....
