Introduction and Aims: The purpose of this study was to determine if celecoxib would improve the conservative treatment of plantar fasciitis.

Method: Twenty-nine patients with plantar fasciitis were given a night splint, viscoelastic heel cups and a home heel cord stretching program. Thirteen of the patients were given celecoxib 200mg a day for one month and 16 were given a placebo for one month. After their initial visit, patients were followed at one, two and six months.

Results: Twenty-eight patients improved, and one patient’s symptoms were subjectively worse at the end of the six months. Pain scores improved 5.79 points for the celecoxib group and 4.59 for the placebo group. Disability scores improved 5.03 points and 3.44 respectively. The celecoxib group had greater reductions in both pain and disability than the placebo group.

Conclusion: Although, our study was limited by the small sample size, our results indicate that plantar fasciitis can be treated effectively by non-surgical methods and that the use of an anti-inflammatory early in the course of plantar fasciitis may have some beneficial effects in improvement of symptoms.