Top 5 Products for Treating Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis can be a painful injury, and figuring out a cause and solution for it can be frustrating.

Some people may respond to stretches, and others to custom orthotics – but in many cases, it’s best to use a combination of the treatments below for an effective recovery.

Here are our top 5 products for plantar fasciitis treatment.

Night Splints

When at rest, your feet naturally want to plantar flex (point downward). This position shortens the plantar fascia tissues underneath your feet while they’re recovering from the day of use, which results in painful micro-tears when you put weight on your feet again.

To prevent this, night splints are worn to hold the ankle at 90 degrees during rest. By stretching the tissues while resting, they can heal in a position closer to their active state.

If you experience pain in your feet each morning, that is one of the best indications that night splints will work for you.

Insoles or Custom Orthotics

All insoles help reduce the pain of plantar fasciitis by limiting how much your foot flattens during weight bearing, and over-the-counter insoles can be a good first line treatment. But custom orthotics provide additional support through THREE ways.

1. Custom orthotics can include a heel well: a custom sculpted accommodation in the heel to help reduce the pain associated with heel spurs. Heel wells are actually a hole drilled directly into the shell of the orthotic at the heel area that is then filled with soft foam.
2. Custom arch contouring is able to provide better contact through your foot, especially if you have a higher arch, that will help evenly distribute pressure off your sore heel.
3. Custom orthotics can provide additional alignment control, called posting, that helps to further reduce how much your arch flattens. Posting is particularly helping in people with low arches.

Kintec’s Canadian-certified pedorthists are experts in gait assessment and orthotic design.

Supportive Home Footwear

When people experience foot pain, they usually look at their work and casual footwear, but not what they wear around the house. Unfortunately, many people don’t realize how much time they spend on their feet at home. When you add hardwood floors into the equation, this can put a lot of strain on your feet.

Consistent support is a key factor to healing plantar fasciitis, and a pair of slippers or sandals with built-in arch support is a great option – they are easy to slide on and will always be by the bed.

Rolling Devices

Massaging the plantar fascia with a rolling device is a simple treatment option that can be used easily at home. It can help stretch out the plantar fascia, improve blood flow to the area, promote healing, and relieve pain.

Use a Foot Rubz roller and Addaday Massage Roller 2 – 3 times a day for 2-minute intervals to massage the bottom of your feet.

Supportive Footwear

If you have a flexible foot, a structured shoe with torsional stability and a heel counter can help reduce some tension to the plantar fascia. However, if you have a rigid foot, a shoe with good shock absorption can help lessen impact forces to the heel.

One of the functions of the plantar fascia is to propel the foot during toe-off. A stiff front rocker can aid in this motion while reducing strain and lessening the workload on the plantar fascia.

Kintec Fitting Experts will perform a thorough gait assessment to determine which shoe features are most appropriate for your feet.

WATCH: Top 5 Products For Treating Plantar Fasciitis (1:50)

Talk to an Expert

It is always best to check with a medical practitioner or foot care specialist; they can help guide you towards different treatment options.

Pedorthists at Kintec can answer your questions and help you recover. Find a Kintec location near you today!

Learn more about treating plantar fasciitis at home on the Kintec blog!