Self-dosed vs. pre-determined heavy-slow resistance training
Plantar fasciopathy is one of the most prevalent musculoskeletal conditions and will affect one in every ten people during their lifetime.
The condition was formerly labelled as ‘plantar fasciitis’ but due to histological findings similar to those of tendinopathies, longstanding plantar fasciopathy is now considered a tendinopathy.
A new treatment approach that appears promising for plantar fasciopathy is heavy-slow resistance training, which involves repeated slow contractions through concentric, isometric and eccentric phases against a heavy load.
Recently, physiotherapists in Denmark and Australia collaborated on a randomised controlled trial to examine different ways of prescribing the dose of this exercise therapy.
70 people with plantar fasciopathy performed a repeated heel raise exercise in standing for 12 weeks. Half the participants were self-dosed (i.e., they performed as many sets as possible with as heavy a load as possible, but no heavier than 8 repetition maximum).
The exercise regimen for the other participants was pre-determined (i.e., it followed a standardised progressive protocol).
Self-dosed and pre-determined heavy-slow resistance exercise programs had similar effects on plantar fasciopathy pain and other outcomes over 12 weeks.
Advising people with plantar fasciopathy to self-dose their slow-heavy resistance training regimen did not substantially increase the achieved dose compared with a pre-determined regimen.
Want to read deeper into this topic? Have a look at the free full text version of this article published in Journal of Physiotherapy!
> From: Riel et al., J Physiother 65 (2019) 144-151 (Epub ahead of print). All rights reserved to Australian Physiotherapy Association. Click here for the online summary.
