STUDY DESIGN: Systematic literature review. PURPOSE: To determine the effectiveness of night splints for the treatment of plantar fasciitis. BACKGROUND: Plantar fasciitis occurs in more than 2 million Americans each year and is the most common cause of acute heel pain. Conservative and nonconservative intervention options exist in the literature, but there is limited evidence on the effectiveness of night splints. Night splints are one conservative intervention that is available to patients affected by plantar fasciitis, and to our knowledge, this is the first review to evaluate their effectiveness. METHODS: Searches of electronic databases (CINAHL, PubMed, Cochrane, PEDro, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, and Ovid-Medline) were conducted for research studies from June 2005 to June 2015. The GRADE approach was used to evaluate the quality of each paper. RESULTS: Six papers that met the established inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in this systematic review. Four papers were observational and 2 papers were randomized controlled trials. The evidence ranged from high to very low quality. Recommendations for the use of night splints were weak for use in all 6 papers. CONCLUSIONS: The available evidence suggests night splints may be helpful in treating the common symptoms of plantar fasciitis, with anterior splints being better tolerated than posterior splints.

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