en Physical Medecine& Rehabilitaion Physical Medecine& Rehabilitaion Original Research Original Research <p><strong>Background: </strong>This study examined the effects of dry needling on chronic heel pain due to plantar fasciitis.</p> <p><strong>&nbsp; Methods</strong>: During this single-blinded clinical trial, 20 eligible patients were randomized into two groups: A case group treated with dry needling and a control group. Patients&rsquo; plantar pain severity, (using modified visual analog scale [VAS] scoring system), range of motion of ankle joint in dorsiflexion [ROMDF] and plantar extension [ROMPE] and foot function index (using standard questionnaires of SEM5 and MDC7) were assessed at baseline, four weeks after intervention and four weeks after withdrawing treatment. Independent sample t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, paired t-test, Wilcoxon signed rank tests, and chi square test were used for data analysis.</p> <p><strong>&nbsp; Results</strong>: The mean VAS scores in the case group was significantly lower than the control group after four weeks of intervention (p<0.001). Comparison of the ROMDF and ROMPE did not reveal any significant changes after four weeks of intervention in the case and control groups (p=0.7 and p=0.65, respectively). The mean of MDC7 and SEM5 scores in the case group were significantly lower than the control group following four weeks of intervention (p<0.001).</p> <p><strong>&nbsp; Conclusion</strong>: Despite the insignificant effect on ROMDF and ROMPE, trigger point dry needling, by improving the severity of heel pain, can be used as a good alternative option before proceeding to more invasive therapies of plantar fasciitis.</p> <p></p> Plantar fasciitis, Myofascial trigger points, Chronic heel pain, Dry needling. 724 732 http://mjiri.iums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1-1034&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Bina Eftekharsadat binasadat@yahoo.com 200319475328460023726 200319475328460023726 No Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. Arash Babaei-Ghazani arashbabaie@gmail.com 200319475328460023727 200319475328460023727 Yes Neuromusculoskeletal Research Center, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department, Firozgar hospital, Valiasr Square, Tehran, Iran. Vahideh Zeinolabedinzadeh vahide.abediny@gmail.com 200319475328460023728 200319475328460023728 No Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.