New Cure for Heel Pain This new night splint "sock" helps treat plantar fasciitis by: Amby Burfoot A new study has found a simple, nonsurgical, no-injection, and highly effective way to resolve plantar-fasciitis pain. The key: use of a "night splint," specifically a low-cost splint called the Strassburg Sock. A night splint is a temporary splint that you wear only while sleeping. The study, published in The Journal of Foot & Ankle Surgery, pitted two therapies against each other: the Strassburg Sock and a traditional calf-stretching regimen. Each was used to treat a group of patients suffering from plantar fasciitis. The night splint was far more effective than stretching, helping patients recover in an average of 18.5 days versus 58.6 days for the stretching regimen. Head researcher Lance Barry, D.P.M., a marathon-running podiatrist, believes the splints worked best because immobilization of an injured tissue is the first step toward helping that tissue heal. "The long established principles that govern the healing of bone and other soft tissues should be used in the treatment of plantar fasciitis," he says. Barry says he has tried other, more bulky night splints, but his patients haven't liked them because their bulkiness makes it hard to get a good night's sleep. At the first sign of plantar fasciitis, Barry suggests following these steps: 1. Stop running for 1 to 2 weeks, until you no longer experience morning heel pain. 2. Cross-train. Bicycle, aqua-jog, or do other aerobic exercise that doesn't stress the plantar fascia. 3. Avoid wearing high-heel shoes, walking barefoot, and doing squats and calf raises. 4. Wear the night splint until you have gone 7 days without pain. This usually takes 3 to 4 weeks. 5. Take anti-inflammatory medicine for 10 days. Visit www.thesock.com for more information.