Plantar fasciitis can be really painful and needs quick treatment. One of the immediate treatments is to perform stretching exercises.
These exercises help in keeping your plantar fasciitis in line. One way of stretching your plantar fasciitis is to wear a night splint throughout the night.
It must be kept in mind that these night splints might not be the ultimate solution to your plantar fasciitis problem, but they surely are effective as quoted by many of their users.
Initially it might be difficult to get used to the fact that you are sleeping with your foot boot, but with time you are sure to experience less pain especially when you will take your first step in the morning.
Why Use Plantar Fasciitis Night Splint?
- Night splints help in stretching the plantar fascia by positioning the foot in a 90 degree dorsiflexion. This way the extra-ordinary pain faced in the first step is considerably reduced.
- Keeps your calf muscles and Achilles tendon stretched out in a proper manner and prevents them from aggravating the plantar fasciitis pain.
Disadvantage of Wearing Night Splint
While wearing night splints, one might feel like wearing something as heavy as a snow boot and hence has to go through an inconvenient situation.
Varieties of Night Splints
When you go out to shop for night splints, you will come across two main types of these splints that will help you with your plantar fasciitis; the boot and the dorsal. Both types are equally liked by their users.
The Boot Splint
As the name suggests, this night splint has a design similar to that of a boot. It is made for the back of your leg, calf till the area under your feet. The size of the brace is a bit larger as compared to the dorsal one.
The common problem with these splints is that they are big in size and uncomfortable in their feel making your toes go numb. If by chance you have to walk in these, you simply cannot do so.
The Dorsal Splint
In the dorsal night splint there is a hard plastic support at the upper part of your foot which keeps it firm and in a 90 degree position.
As the back of your foot that is the heel and arch isn’t covered you are prone to slippage. Due to the unique design, toes feel tangled and larger straps increase sweating.
Studies Regarding Night Splints
Many studies have been undertaken with the purpose of finding the effectiveness of night splints. Most of these proved that night splints cured or reduced the amount of pain users experienced because of plantar fasciitis.
One study used a random sample of 15 patients where each one was required to wear night splints. After 12.5 weeks, it was found that indeed night splints are useful in curing plantar fasciitis if they are paired with Ibuprofen and stretching cushions.
In another study in which 30 persons were involved, various experiments were conducted and the result was healed plantar fasciitis with the help of a night splint and arch supports.
Best Plantar Fasciitis Night Splint
For your convenience, we have put together a list of the 6 best plantar fasciitis night splint. We have enlisted their highlighting features, pros and cons.
1. Bird and Cronin Plantar Fasciitis Night Splint
Being one of the best night splint brands in the market, Bird and Cronin plantar fasciitis night splint alleviates the pain that you face with your first step in the morning.
It is designed with a slip-resistant sole that makes this night splint light in weight. Its overall shape yields a great dorsiflexed position. They come in a variety of sizes and colors.
Pros – relieves plantar fasciitis pain especially the excruciating one in the morning, perfect fit, comfortable and no feeling of irritation whatsoever while wearing this night splint.
Cons – sizing inconsistencies, might cause foot numbing if the splint is wrapped tightly, cannot move around in these splints properly.
2. Alpha Medical Plantar Fasciitis Night Splint
Alpha medical plantar fasciitis night splint is giving a hard time to its competitors by its simple yet effective design.
This night splint is light weight with hard exterior shell for greater arch support and soft foam interior for better breathability of the feet. With its 3 padded straps mobility becomes easier.
Pros – helps in escaping morning pain, comfortable, fits perfectly and comes with an additional wedge for toe support.
Cons – Might be uncomfortable initially, middle strap buckling issues, foot gets numb if you don’t buckle properly.
3. Futuro Plantar Fasciitis Sleep Support or Futuro Adjustable
This dorsal night splint from Futuro has a simple and a compact design that produces great results. It helps in maintaining 85-90 degree recommended position of foot.
It is made up of a soft foam material that is comfortable as well as great in breathability. Futuro has also released one with adjustable foot straps.
Pros – lessens first step morning pain, easy to wear, comfortable and easy to travel with
Cons – easy slippage, takes time to adapt to and adjust in.
4. Active Ankle DNS Dorsal Night Splint
Active Ankle is another great Dorsal Night Splint in our guide. It is constructed in a convenient small size which makes it light in weight and better in comfort ability.
It is built with a purpose of holding your feet in a neutral posture. It comes in 2 sizes; small and large.
Pros – comfortable and provides relief to plantar fasciitis pain
Cons – does not provide perfect fit, might cause slippage and numbing of the foot.
5. Swede-O Deluxe Padded Night Splint
The Swede-O deluxe night splint as the name suggests is a fully padded boot brace that helps in keeping your feet comfortable throughout the night.
With its unique design, greater mobility is achieved at night. It is truly one of the most loved night splints available in the market.
Pros – alleviates morning heel as well as overall plantar fasciitis pain, comfortable, contains a foot-flex wedge
Cons – not a compact one, expensive, not long-lasting and difficult to adjust in right away
6. Thermoskin Night Time Relief FXT
With its soft sock like design Thermoskin Night Time Relief FXT is one of the more comfortable night splints that helps in relieving plantar fasciitis pain.
Its FXT pulls the toes back keeping your feet fully stretched throughout the night.
Pros – less disturbing due to its compact design, does its job of stretching plantar fascia
Cons – foot gets sweaty while wearing thermoskin, continuous pull of the toes causes irritation and discomfort
Conclusion
Night splints have long be tested and experimented in the field of research as well. Luckily, they have proven to fulfill their purpose.
Our list includes only those night splints that have been tested by hundreds of people who have combined these with orthotic inserts and who followed a regular treatment protocol in order to escape plantar fasciitis.
We hope that our guide of the best plantar fasciitis night splint assisted you in knowing all about night splints and it also helped you in choosing right night splint for your plantar fasciitis.