Extracorporeal shock wave therapy was investigated in patients with chronic plantar fasciitis. Fifty-three patients (60 heels) were treated with a single ses sion of shock wave therapy. Sixteen patients (19 heels) were active, 21 (22 heels) were moderately active, and 16 (19 heels) were sedentary. Twelve weeks post-treatment, mean visual analog scores improved from 9.2 to 2.4 (P < .05), RAND-Physical Functioning score improved from 40.4 to 91.5 (P < .05), and RAND-Pain score improved from 33.3 to 90 (P < .05). Fifty heels (83.3%) were assigned an excellent or good result. Extracorporeal shock wave therapy is an effective treatment for chronic plantar fasciitis.