Developing a mobileHealth Solution for Treatment of Plantar Fasciitis
Jack McGreevey, Eddie Bear, Ben Shumpert, Jushawn Macon, Bryce Kunkle, Vladimir Reukov, PhD
Purpose: Plantar Fasciitis is the inflammation of the
plantar fascia caused by microscopic tears in the tendon1.
These small tears cause inflammation of the plantar fascia
and cause pain in the most elementary of tasks such as
walking or standing. Approximately 3 million people
per year are afflicted by this disease2. There are products
on the market that provide temporary solutions to plantar
fasciitis, but they do not offer long-term solutions. The
purpose of this project is to develop a device that
effectively measures the stretch of the plantar fascia in an
effort to treat plantar fasciitis. This project aims to
measure the stretch of the plantar fascia and record the
amount of stretch by the tendon to give feedback to the
patient and clinician indicating the level of recovery of
Figure 1 shows the placement of the sensor on the foot
the tendon. The interface encourages patients to perform
the stretches by efficiently conveying the type and amount
of stretch recommended by the physician to heal the
allow feedback for the patient’s recovery. Also, a more
tendon. There are several products on the market that
user-friendly interface for the app would be desirable,
serve as temporary fixes that reduce pain for the patient,
considering a large part of the target demographic is the
but these products do not provide long-term solutions to
elderly.
the injury. This product strives to provide a long-term
Conclusions: The device in its current state performs the
treatment that provides constant feedback to both the
tasks that are required from it. It effectively measures the
patient and the clinician along the patient’s road to
amount of stretch by the plantar fascia for a patient.
recovery.
There are a few improvements that should be made. The
Materials and Methods: The project uses a RedBear
hardware aspect of the project needs to be more refined
Lab Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) device in conjunction
and robust. The software also needs to be improved by
with either a stretch sensor or a bend sensor. The sensor
making the interface more easily accessible as well as
is mounted to the bottom of a sock along the sole of the
allowing for real-time communication between the
foot, and it measures the amount of stretch by the tendon
clinician and the patient. The advantages of this project
in various exercises. These values are recorded as
over other products currently on the market is that this
resistances, and the BLE device interprets these values as
project provides a long-term solution to plantar fasciitis.
integers that are sent to an app on a smartphone that
By providing constant feedback, the product encourages
displays these integers corresponding to the level of
patients to perform the stretches on their own. It also
stretch. The device and stretch sensor are powered by a
allows versatility in the stretches that, in conjunction with
rechargeable 3.7 Volt rechargeable lithium ion battery.
consultation with a clinician, will allow the patient to
The app stores the values for each stretch to track patient
proactively cure the affliction in a manner best suited to
progress and has an interface for the patient to input level
them. These reasons make the project unique and
of pain as well as the further stretches the patient should
beneficial to the treatment of the disease.
do.
References
Results: The data recovered from the app is directly
1.Plantar Fasciitis: The Mayo Clinic." The Mayo
related to the amount of stretch performed by the patient.
Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Education and
In other words, as the stretch increases, the integers
Research, n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2016.
displayed by the app increase. The device and sensor are
<http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseasesall completely mobile and can effectively transmit data
conditions/plantarvia Bluetooth to the app with no measured interference.
fasciitis/basics/definition/con-20025664>.
The prototype was used on a designer of the device, and it
2. Wearing, S.C., Smeathers, J.E., Urry, S.R. et al. Sports
was found to be comfortable and effective in measuring
Med (2006) 36: 585.
the amount of stretch by the plantar fascia when
doi:10.2165/00007256-200636070- 00004
performing various stretches. The prototype design is not
particularly desirable since there are leads exposed that
can be disrupted by external factors such as getting caught
on tables. Furthermore, the current design also has the
BLE device exposed. It would be more desirable to put a
case on the device that houses both the device and the
rechargeable battery. The app also should allow for
interface between the patient and the clinician to further