The Effectiveness of Two Night Splints on the Range of Motion of Ankle and Foot Complex, Pain, and Quality of Life in People With Plantar Fasciitis: An Exploratory Parallel-Group Study

Objective: Plantar fasciitis is the most common cause of heel pain. The night splints are used to prevent nocturnal contractures happened in the calf muscles and plantar fascia. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of using tension night splint for calf and plantar fascia on the range of motion of foot and ankle complex, pain severity, and quality of life. Methods: 30 people (27 female) with plantar fasciitis volunteered in a parallel-groups clinical study. Participants were allocated to three study groups, including tension calf splint, tension plantar fascia splint, and control group (heel pad). The study outcomes were the range of motion of foot and ankle complex, pain severity, and quality of life measured with a goniometer, visual analog scale, and SF-36 questionnaire, respectively. The post-session was four weeks after participants received their interventions. The analysis of covariance statistical test was used to analyze the within and between-group differences. Results: The analysis of covariance test showed statistically significant differences for pain (f=9.35, p=0.001, η2=0.44) and extension of the first metatarsophalangeal (f=4.76, p=0.017, η2=0.27). There was no statistically significant difference for the quality of life and the ankle dorsiflexion range between groups (p>0.05). The Bonferroni post-hoc showed a significant reduction of the reported pain at post-session in all study groups (p<0.05). The calf tension splint caused a greater extension of the first metatarsophalangeal in post-session (p=0.02). Conclusion: all three orthoses used in this study significantly reduced the pain in people with plantar fasciitis. The results also suggest that tension calf splint has greater effectiveness in improving pain severity and soft tissue flexibility compared to tension fascia splint.