What's the best way to treat plantar fasciitis? Stretches are helpful as are a heel lift. What's the place of a night splint in the treatment of plantar fasciitis? This article explores the use of a night splint in the treatment of plantar fasciitis.

Plantar fasciitis - treatment with a night splint

Interestingly, as one of the more common foot problems, there's a lot of confusion regarding how to best treat plantar fasciitis. Let's talk a bit about the different methods by which you can treat plantar fasciitis.

First, be sure to get an education.  Learning about plantar fasciitis means a lot in terms of your ability to treat it.  As a good starting point, be sure to read our knowledge base article on plantar fasciitis. 

OK, so you read the article, right?  And have you done your stretches 6/day?  Avoided going barefoot?  If you've stuck with the program, 7 out of 10 people who 1) get the education and 2) follow through on the stretches and heel elevation get to a point where they have very little pain. 

Now, what about the remaining 3/10 folks who still have heel pain?  Do you need a night splint?  If you're in the 3/10 group, my best answer is, well, maybe.  I'm inclined to recommend a night splint for the folks that I see in the office who say they just can't remember to stretch.  Or they don't have the time. Or...  We hear lots of excuses.  So if you can't get the stretches done by day, then perhaps a night splint is the tool for you.  But heck, stretches by day are free, right?  So get stretching.

And a heel lift?  That's easy.  Either switch to shoes that already have a heel lift or just pick up a pair of our cork heel lifts.  They're light and inexpensive.

Six stretches per day, right?

Jeff

Jeffrey A. Oster, DPM
Medical Advisor
Myfootshop.com

Updated 12/27/19