Night Splints in Plantar Fasciitis: A Systematic Review

Introduction. Plantar fasciitis (PF) is a subcalcaneal pain syndrome that affects 10-16% of the world's population. The use of foot and ankle splinting allows the talocrural joints to be in anatomical position, reducing the contracture and tension generated by pain and PF. Objective. To review the literature on the effectiveness of night splinting in plantar fasciitis. Materials and methods. Seven databases were used, and EndNote Web and Rayyan reference managers were employed. After exclusion of duplicate articles, Phase 1 reading of titles and abstracts and Phase 2 - reading of the full texts according to the eligibility criteria by two blinded reviewers (R1 and R2) and discrepancies resolved by the third reviewer (R3). Risk of bias assessment was performed by blinded R1 and R2 with the Cochrane tool, Rob 2. Results. The references of 258 studies were identified, 144 from the major databases and 114 from grey literature. Finally, three randomized clinical trials were included in this review. A high risk of overall bias was found in the 3 studies included in this review. Conclusions. It is concluded that the use of the night splint improves pain and function in individuals with plantar fasciitis. However, due to the high risk of bias obtained, there is needed with such a statement, and more primary studies are needed.

Automated summary

Plantar fasciitis (PF) is a common subcalcaneal pain syndrome. The use of foot and ankle splinting can help reduce pain and improve function in individuals with PF. However, more primary studies are needed to validate the effectiveness of night splinting due to the limited number of randomized clinical trials.