Heel pain showdown: which therapy wins for plantar fasciitis?

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: Participants falling in this category would be recruited into the study. * Females aged 25-45 years with chronic heel pain with symptoms persisting for more than one month. * Having a heel pain on the first step during the last week with the rate of at least 40 mm on visual analogue scale. * Presence of morning heel pain, tenderness at the medial calcaneal tubercle, and heel spur, or pain exacerbated by prolonged standing, walking, or dorsiflexion * Patients accepting to discontinue analgesics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications and oral/topical paracetamol during the study period. * Patients diagnosed with plantar fasciitis using Plantar fasciitis questionnaire. Exclusion Criteria: Participants fall in this category would be excluded of the study. * History of foot or ankle fractures, surgeries, or inflammatory conditions like RA. * Presence of any neurological disorders affecting gait. * Participants with diagnosed tendinopathies, including Achilles tendinopathy, posterior tibial tendinopathy, etc. will be excluded from the study to ensure the specificity of plantar fasciitis. * Participants with metabolic disorders (e.g., osteomalacia, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes) affecting bone and soft tissue integrity will be excluded to prevent confounding effects on pain, healing, and treatment outcomes * Active infections, open wounds, or skin conditions at the treatment site. * Diabetic neuropathy or vascular insufficiencies that may affect healing and sensations. * Patients with bleeding disorders like hemophilia and those on anti-coagulant therapy. * Patients with hypersensitivity reactions to needles or specific metals used in needles. * Patients with needle phobia. * Patients with history of epilepsy or seizures. * Use of corticosteroid injections, shockwave therapy, or other invasive treatments for PF in the last 3 months. * Participation in another clinical trial or conflicting therapy during the study period