The Night Splint:

An Effective Remedy for Plantar Fasciitis

Nancy Hausauer, LMP
706 Sixth Avenue * Tacoma, WA 98405 * 253-686-1214
Massage, lymphatic massage, and energy healing serving Tacoma, Seattle,
Federal Way, Puyallup, Lakewood, Olympia, and the Puget Sound region

By the time we're middle aged, many of us have experienced heel pain from plantar fasciitis--pain and stiffness in the bottom of our foot (usually close to the heel) that's especially painful when we first get up in the morning or after we've been sitting for a long time. At best it's uncomfortable, and at worst it's disabling.

A low-cost, very effective solution is the night splint.

Night Splint to Relieve Plantar Fasciitis
Night splints, also called heel splints or plantar fasciitis splints, are inexpensive and safe devices that you wear while sleeping.

Usually when we sleep, our feet don't point straight up at the ceiling. Instead, our ankles relax and allow our feet to droop a little, so that our feet are more at a 45 degree angle to the bed. In this position, the tension on the muscles of our legs and the plantar fascia of our feet is relaxed.

The night splint holds your foot so that it points up toward the ceiling. This keeps some tension on the plantar fascia as you sleep.

This lengthened position is more like the position of the foot when you step on it. Because of this, the plantar fascia doesn't go suddenly from shortened/no-tension to lengthened/tension when you first step on your feet in the morning. It's this sudden change in tension that re-tears your plantar fascia every morning, making it hard to heal.

When you take away this very sudden change in length and tension via the night splint (or another, even cheaper solution that you can read about below), the plantar fascia has a chance to heal, and your heel pain goes away.

Uber-simple solution. You can get a night splint on-line or at a medical supply store. You just strap it on and go to sleep. It may take several nights for you to notice a difference, but you almost surely will.

An Even Cheaper Solution for Plantar Fasciitis Relief
Here's an even cheaper idea that works on the same principle as the night splint, except in reverse.

Simply put a pair of shoes with 1 1/2 to 2-inch heels by your bedside. When you get out of bed (whether during the night or in the morning), put your feet immediately into those shoes. Don't take a single step without them. Leave them on as you walk around in the morning, until your feet have a chance to warm up. After a while, you can take them off and gingerly test to see if it hurts to step down on your feet. If it doesn't, you're good to go. But if it does hurt, leave the shoes on (or switch to another pair with similar heels if you need to wear something different to go to work).

Continue with this practice until your heel pain is a thing of the past. In the meantime, practice some of the other tips that you'll find below (stretching, wearing good shoes, etc.)

The reason putting on heeled-shoes in the morning works is that wearing a shoe with a moderate heel places your foot in the same position as it was while you were in bed--toe pointed slightly down. This keeps the calf muscles and heel fascia in a shortened position, so that the fascia doesn't stretch and re-tear when you first step down on it. As the heel warms up, you can often switch to lower heels. (But be kind to your feet and wear moderate heels, with good arch support and shock absorption.)

More Self-Care Advice for Heel Pain

• Ice: if your heels are acutely painful, hold a cloth-covered ice pack over the painful area for 15 to 20 minutes three or four times a day or after activity. Or if you're really determined to make a difference, perform ice massage on yourself, 2 minutes per session, approximately 10 (or more) times per day. Just give your foot time to warm up between sessions.
• Rest or reduce impact on your feet: decrease your mileage (if you're a runner), or take up a lower impact form of exercise such as swimming or cycling until you're better. The worse it is, the more likely you'll need to actually take some time off from your high-impact activity in order to heal.
• Add arch supports to your shoes: experiment with over-the-counter arch supports to take tension off the plantar fascia and cushion shock. I like Superfeet (green) orthotic, but you may have to experiment to find what works best for you.
• Replace worn-out athletic shoes; avoid high heels, thin soles, no-arch-support shoes. Throw out your flip flops.
• Morning warm-ups (and throughout the day): when you awake (and often throughout the day), repeatedly roll your ankles and flex and point your feet.
• Massage your own foot using a tennis ball. Just roll the tennis ball around with your foot, applying a pleasurable amount of pressure.
• Stretch your calves and the arches of your feet regularly.