Plantar Fascitis Night
Splints have proven to be
successful in reducing the pain of
plantar fascitis.
Plantar Fascitis
is an inflammation of the plantar
fascia. "Plantar" means the bottom
of the foot; "fascia" is a type of
connective tissue, and "itis" means
"inflammation".
The muscles in
the sole of the foot support the
arch of the foot by connecting the
ball of the foot to the heel.
The inflammation
of the plantar fascia is often
caused by walking or running
abnormally and over a period of time
and will increase tension on the
plantar fascia and cause
inflammation.
Plantar Fascitis
is described as a dull, intermittent
pain in the arch of the foot or pain
in the heel. The pain can intensify
to a persistent sharp pain and is
normally noticed after waking in the
morning and often subsides after
walking.
Symptoms of
plantar fascitis can be spontaneous.
Severe heel pain can be caused by
being overweight, improper execution
of exercise and lack of good shoe
support. Plantar fascitis is
described as extreme pain in the
heel of the foot and sore feet.
The first step in
treatment is to rest and do daily
stretching of the calf muscles
several times throughout the day;
also it is recommended to use ice
therapy, and arch foot support.
Another form of treatment is the
plantar fascitis night splint and it
is recommended that you wear this at
night on a continuing basis for
several weeks even if you have not
had any repetitive activity.
The night splint
allows the foot to remain in a
stationary position to provide
stretching of the plantar fascia and
Achilles tendon. The stretch of the
plantar fascia helps reduce
inflammation and progresses the
healing of the tendons and muscles.
