Night splints for plantar fasciitis

Jorisds · Jul 5, 2006

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Should I always incorporate night splints when treating FP ? Is there any criterea when to use them and when not ?

Thanks,

Craig Payne · Jul 5, 2006

I have not found a need to use night splints for a year or so now. I used to use them in those non-responsive to foot orthoses .... but now we have just got so much better in our use and understanding of foot orthoses, I have not needed to use them.

BTW - WELCOME to Podiatry Arena

Admin2 · Sep 19, 2007

Plantar fasciitis

Related thread:
Night-splints - profound soft tissue ankle equinus

and

Plantar Fasciitis Discussions

NewsBot · Sep 19, 2007

The effectiveness of dorsiflexion night splint added to conservative treatment for plantar fasciitis.
Beyzadeoğlu T, Gökçe A, Bekler H.
Acta Orthop Traumatol Turc. 2007;41(3):220-224.

OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the effectiveness and results of night splint applications for the treatment of plantar fasciitis.

METHODS: The study included 44 patients (53 feet) with plantar fasciitis. The mean symptom duration was 7.2+/-5.9 weeks (range 1 to 24 weeks). Calcaneal spurs were detected in 12 feet. All the patients received classic conservative treatment and all were recommended to use a night splint that kept the ankle in 5-degree of dorsiflexion for eight weeks. Twenty-five patients (14 females, 11 males; 31 feet) did not accept to use a night splint, whereas 19 patients (12 females, 7 males; 22 feet) did. Evaluations were made with the AOFAS ankle-hindfoot rating scale and a visual analog scale (VAS) before and after two months of treatment. The mean follow-up periods were 33.8 months (range 12 to 54 months) and 32.7 months (range 13 to 53 months) for those who completed treatment with and without the use of a night splint, respectively.

RESULTS: Although there were no significant differences between the two groups with regard to the initial AOFAS and VAS scores, patients using a night splint exhibited significantly higher improvements in both scores at the end of the second month (p=0.01 and p=0.001, respectively). Heel pain recurred in three feet (13.6%) and in nine feet (29%) with and without night splint applications, respectively. Overall, the presence of a calcaneal spur, bilateral involvement, and body mass index were not correlated with patient satisfaction and recurrences. There was no correlation between the presence of a calcaneal spur and body mass index. However, symptom duration till treatment showed a significant correlation with recurrences (r=0.326, p=0.031).

CONCLUSION: Patients without previous treatments for plantar fasciitis obtain significant relief of heel pain in the short term with the use of a night splint incorporated into conservative methods; however, this application does not have a significant effect on prevention of recurrences after a two-year follow-up.
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deco · Sep 19, 2007

Could night splints be used if tight TA's may contribute to PF?

Declan

NewsBot · Apr 2, 2008

This Clinical Trial has just been registered:
Plantar Fasciitis Treated With Dynamic Splinting

NewsBot · Dec 21, 2017

The addition of a tension night splint to a structured home rehabilitation programme in patients with chronic plantar fasciitis does not lead to significant additional benefits in either pain, function or flexibility: a single-blinded randomised controlled trial.
Wheeler PC
BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2017 Jun 13;3(1):e000234. doi: 10.1136/bmjsem-2017-000234. eCollection 2017.

OBJECTIVE:
To identify any improvements in pain or function in patients with chronic plantar fasciitis following the use of a tension night splint (TNS).

METHODS:
Single-blinded randomised controlled trial, with participants split evenly between intervention group (TNS + home exercise programme/HEP) and control group (HEP only). Follow-up at 3 months, with interim data at 6 weeks.

RESULTS:
40 patients recruited. Mean age 52.1 years, 33% male, mean body mass index 30.8 kg/m2, mean duration of symptoms of 25 months. Improvement in self-reported 'average pain' in the intervention group from 6.8/10 at baseline to 5.6/10 at 6 weeks, and 5.3/10 at 3 months (both clinically and statistically significant at both time points), compared with control group of 7.1/10 at baseline to 6.2/10 at 6 weeks and 5.6/10 at 3 months (significant only at 3 months). Improvements in self-reported 'worst pain', 'pain walking' and 'pain first thing in the morning' in both groups at all time periods. Improvements were seen in revised Foot Function Index at all time points in both groups, but limited changes seen in flexibility and no significant changes in anxiety or depression Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale domains or sleep quality in either group. However, no differences were seen between the outcomes seen in the two groups for the majority of the measures studied.

CONCLUSIONS:
Improvements in pain and some functional measures seen in both groups, with few, if any, differences seen in outcomes between the intervention group compared with the control group. However, ongoing pain symptoms were reported in both groups, suggesting that 'help' rather than 'cure' was obtained for the majority. There is a possibility of earlier benefit seen in the intervention group compared with the control group, but data are unclear and further work may be needed.
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