plantar fasciitis splint and other products to wear at night

[BunnyHop]

Originally Posted by Rivercat

... What did seem to help a lot were Jill Miller's foot stretches on YouTube and walking or standing barefoot/in socks on small rocks: I got a cheap plastic boot tray, filled it with a layer of 1-2" landscaping rocks and placed it on the floor in the kitchen where I stand to cook everyday. The PF that had bothered me for over a year cleared up within a few weeks. Can't remember where I first heard about "gravel walking" for PF, but I saw the boot tray idea in an issue of Women's Running.

Good luck! PF is no fun at all.

What a clever idea, I'm glad it worked so well for you. So you just place the tray where you're most likely to stand and fill it with the right sized rocks, then stand on it barefoot while you're working? Sounds simple enough. Not sure I'd want to do that in the dead of winter, though. My feet get cold. Think wool socks would be okay?

[Vantreesta]

Originally Posted by Rivercat

The two night socks I tried didn't seem to help me much at all, but I probably didn't give them much of a chance since I'd get annoyed and take them off in the middle of the night

What did seem to help a lot were Jill Miller's foot stretches on YouTube and walking or standing barefoot/in socks on small rocks: I got a cheap plastic boot tray, filled it with a layer of 1-2" landscaping rocks and placed it on the floor in the kitchen where I stand to cook everyday. The PF that had bothered me for over a year cleared up within a few weeks. Can't remember where I first heard about "gravel walking" for PF, but I saw the boot tray idea in an issue of Women's Running.

Good luck! PF is no fun at all.

Thanks for sharing this rock tip! I may try it.

I have compression socks for PF that seem to help a little. The night splint/boot helps a lot when I can keep it on. That's not always easy to do with RLS! I wholeheartedly second Jill Miller's foot exercises. That has helped me more than anything else. When I was a barista I did them before shifts when my foot was hurting the worst and the day was so much better!

[yogapam]

Totally agree with the Jill Miller foot stretches, they really helped me. I also kept these spiky balance pods beside my bed. As soon as I got out of bed and throughout the day, I stood on them worked my feet.
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[Vantreesta]

Originally Posted by yogapam

Totally agree with the Jill Miller foot stretches, they really helped me. I also kept these spiky balance pods beside my bed. As soon as I got out of bed and throughout the day, I stood on them worked my feet.
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Pam, thanks for another good tip! I had thought about standing on those when I brush my teeth but never did. I can't leave things like that lying around or my dog will think it's a fun thing to shred so I tend to forget things I don't easily lay eyes on. I should figure out a memory trick so I use them!

[donnadc]

I had a bad bout of PF not long ago. I bought one of the night splints and about after a few hours I couldn't stand it anymore and had to take it off.

What helped me the most was being diligent with doing calf stretches and hamstring stretches. I think the hamstring stretches really helped me the most. I would do them lying down so that I wouldn't tweak my back.

Good luck!

[Rivercat]

Originally Posted by BunnyHop

What a clever idea, I'm glad it worked so well for you. So you just place the tray where you're most likely to stand and fill it with the right sized rocks, then stand on it barefoot while you're working? Sounds simple enough. Not sure I'd want to do that in the dead of winter, though. My feet get cold. Think wool socks would be okay?

Sure! I think it works by massaging and stretching the tendons in the foot, much like the spiky balls do, so any foot covering where you can still feel the rocks would be fine.

[Rivercat]

The other thing that helped that I forgot to mention before was wearing Birkenstock EVA sandals around the house and avoiding going barefoot as much as possible.

[Vantreesta]

Originally Posted by Rivercat

The other thing that helped that I forgot to mention before was wearing Birkenstock EVA sandals around the house and avoiding going barefoot as much as possible.

I remember my old doctor getting onto me for working out barefoot when mine was bad years ago but I started workouts in shoes and had to kick them off partway through bc the pain was worse in shoes. I do pretty much all my workouts barefoot except treadmill, elliptical, bike and step. Around the house I go barefoot all summer and slippers the rest of the time unless I'm standing in the kitchen for longer periods. I think it can help strengthen the muscles but everyone is different.

[yogapam]

Originally Posted by Vantreesta

I remember my old doctor getting onto me for working out barefoot when mine was bad years ago but I started workouts in shoes and had to kick them off partway through bc the pain was worse in shoes. I do pretty much all my workouts barefoot except treadmill, elliptical, bike and step. Around the house I go barefoot all summer and slippers the rest of the time unless I'm standing in the kitchen for longer periods. I think it can help strengthen the muscles but everyone is different.

Same here, my indoor cardio is primarily low impact and & done barefoot. I also do barre, yoga, & Essentrics. I stretch my feet a lot...toe sit in my yoga practice & I use toe stretchers. It has all kept the PF from returning. If I wear shoes on my rebounder, my toes go numb which is odd, lol. I do a lot of walking & I always wear good supportive shoes or Vionic sandals to walk outdoors.

[Pam61]

I wore a boot style splint, as a last resort because it was so awkward and uncomfortable to sleep in this at night.

The best thing was stretching my feet, using a rubber ball or rolling massage stick frequently, but especially in the morning.

I used all the wraps, bandages, compression socks, rubber insoles. Sometimes freezing a water bottle and rolling on that helped, too. Or, there are wraps that you can also freeze after moistening with water.

I did all kinds of exercises for feet but there were times when just standing was painful, at first. Sue Hitzmann's Melt Method helped, Jill Miller, Classical Stretch, some yoga.

I have all hardwood floors so could not walk around barefoot and now wear indoor shoes at all times inside the home. Some of the hiking sandals are very supportive for me. And, athletic shoes that have more cushion.

It took me almost a year to heal. I should have gone to physical therapy in the beginning, as maybe it would have kept me consistent in isolating that one area.

ETA: I also massaged my feet with peppermint or lavender oil with Penetrex pain relief cream. Sometimes just used other foot creams.