Papers of the Week

 To determine the modifiable risk factors associated with severity of plantar fasciitis and to formulate an objective scoring system for indexing plantar fasciitis in the non-athletic population.  This was a prospective observational study. The main outcome measure was the association of a modifiable risk factor, which was measured with the Pearson coefficient (R-value) and the level of significance, which was kept as  < 0.05.  In a sample size of 50 patients, the body mass index (BMI) and ill-cushioned shoes were found to be significantly associated with pain in plantar fasciitis. All the other risk factors were either non-modifiable or had no significant association.  Based on available data and further interpretation, an index was be formulated, named as Ranjeet-Kunal Index for Scoring Plantar fasciitis (RKISP), which can be successfully used for not only grading plantar fasciitis but also prognosticating the conservative management of the same, thus deciding the modality of treatment.