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71 of 75 found the following review helpful:
 Ongoing use updates Jul 30, 2010
By R. Davidson
*** I'm putting this review on all sizes of this product, sorry for any redundancy. I'm hoping it will be helpful for anyone considering it ***
I have been wearing this splint for about a month now to combat a pretty severe case of plantar fasciitis and want to update you on the effectiveness and my experience with it. My plantar fasciitis was caused primarily by weighing too darn much, plus moving into a house with mostly hardwood floors and walking around barefoot/in socks without foot support. I had never heard of the injury until it was too late.
First of all the product. I started out with the medium size based on my shoe size but my toes stuck out over the edge and my foot felt kind of squished so I switched to the large. My foot size is "around" 10 or so, I would suggest going to the large if you have any question.
How I adjusted the straps. The top strap keeps the thing from sliding up and down and as such I have that one somewhat tight. The middle strap (goes kind of over your ankle) is important in that it keeps your foot in the proper position. If too loose, your foot can position so that the ligament is not stretched properly and can tighten overnight. So I tighten this strap as much as comfortable so that my ankle can't bend and separate from the device much. If you find you can point your toes downward, then this strap is probably too loose. The bottom strap (over the top of your foot) is not as important in positioning as long as the middle ankle strap is correct, and I have that one quite loose. The bottom one if too tight is very uncomfortable and cuts off circulation in my case. As far as the side straps, pull them tighter to increase the stretch, generally just a gentle stretch is all you need. If you change these side straps much, you will need to adjust the other 3. This is just what finally worked fairly comfortably and effectively for me, your experience might be different. I definitely agree it does take some getting used to.
Effectiveness - I had immediate relief for that "first step" in the morning. I was able get out of bed and walk normally where before using this product I was hopping around on my good foot for about 5 minutes. I could not put any weight at all on my bad foot. My foot pain was not entirely gone, but felt just "normal" as though it was during the day. I also now have orthotics designed for plantar fasciitis in every pair of shoes/slippers I own (fortunately I am male so that is not many ;-)..) and am very careful not to walk on any non-cushioned surface without these orthotics.
Is my injury "fixed"? Not yet. I think if I were to go a night without this splint I would still be in a lot of pain in the morning. So this has reduced/eliminated that problem but I still have to wear it and of course the goal is a "cure" and no longer needing to wear it. I have a feeling that overall my problem is improving, and if I continue to wear the orthotics and use this product it MIGHT over time go away. It took a long time to get the injury and I'm just trying to be patient in my self-treatment of it. At some point I may see a podiatrist but for right now this is sufficient.
I'll update this review if I have any major breakthroughs.
In the meantime, I would recommend it highly at least for relief of morning pain.
***** Update 9/28/10. My foot has been feeling better so tried a couple nights without the splint. It wasn't as bad as before (about like after an hour or two nap) but gradually worsened. I started wearing it again and better in the morning and all day. Just have to be PATIENT I guess. But the goal is to not hurt/injure the foot so anything which prevents pain is important. Just not ready to stop wearing it yet. But I'm hoping soon with the other steps, not quite yet. Still keeping up with the orthotics.
***** Update 11/18/10 (last one). I think I've reached the break-even point where the inconvenience of the splint (although not bad) outweighs the benefit I get. At most 10 to 15 seconds of stretch is all I need now in the morning to be quite comfortable and now I'm also quite comfortable all day. I still use and will continue using inserts (plus have lost 23 lbs, yay, 44 more to go). But for now I consider my plantar fasciitis if not cured, at least very livable and tolerable. I expect it to continue to improve still.
Was this product worth it? It certainly helped with the extreme discomfort and for that I would definitely recommend it. I'm not sure that it helped with my (near) cure, but it certainly wasn't a good thing to allow that ligament to tighten up so badly every night. I'm fairly convinced that the overnight stretch did at least speed the process. If you can stand to wear it, I would say it is definitely worth it.
17 of 17 found the following review helpful:
Effective and Long-lasting May 30, 2011
By saintsfan342000
People seem to give this item a poor grade for one of the following reasons:
(1) The strap-to-boot connection broke
(2) Their feet or toes went numb while wearing the splint
(3) The splint is generally uncomfortable
Here's my response to each of the above three criticisms.
(1) People point out that the strap-to-boot connections are of low quality, or too weak for the boot. Both claims are probably true. But I've been wearing one of these boots on each of my feet for six months now, and they do show any signs of near failure. Why? I NEVER WALK OR STAND while wearing these splints. Ever. Period. These under-sized connections hold up just fine when laying or sitting - doing puts only a small, static load on the connections. But walking puts a high, dynamic load on them - no wonder they fail. These splints are not difficult to take on or off. Three snaps and you're out. Even for the 3 am bathroom run, it's no problem to remove them (if you have serious PF and don't walk barefoot, then removing the boot is far less inconvenient than stretching or putting on shoes just to walk to the bathroom).
SUMMARY: Never walk or stand in this. It is not difficult or inconvenient to remove.
(2) This happened to me during the first couple weeks of sleeping in this splint. Because of the strap configuration, you really need to tighten down the straps to keep your foot locked in the optimal position. However, this tightness may cause your feet or toes to go numb, or cause pain on the top-side of your foot. How to get around this? LOOSEN THE STRAPS! Your foot may not be in the optimal position, but your plantar fascia will still be neutral, or in very mild tension, and that's all you really need to promote flexibility and healthy healing.
SUMMARY: You don't need to keep the straps all that tight to keep your foot in a healthy position.
(3) Uncomfortable isn't the best word. Awkward is more appropriate. I've always been able to sleep as peacefully with these splints on as I would without...once I got the straps adjusted right, that is. It's not so conducive to sleeping on your stomach, which I do miss, but oh well. I will say that on weekends when I'm sleeping in, it's harder to sleep and sleep and sleep like I normally do, because once I wake up, I become more conscious of the boots presence. But, in general, this boot hasn't affected my ability to get a good night's sleep at all.
SUMMARY: You have a big plastic boot on your foot - it's not going to go unnoticed. But it's not really a nuisance.
BOTTOM LINE
This thing holds up fine if you treat it gently.
Any inconveniences this splint has are MINISCULE compared to the inconveniences of plantar fasciitis.
This will help your feet heal.
12 of 12 found the following review helpful:
Very Little Morning Foot Pain Apr 09, 2010
By Sean F. Williams
It took a couple of nights to get used to sleeping with it on my foot, but once the straps were adjusted it is hardly noticed. The pain has been reduced to almost nothing and if I go without it or a couple of days the pain returns. It's durable for the price and has a traction pad on the bottom for late night bathroom runs. Overall a good product and it was shipped very fast.
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
works May 21, 2010
By G. E. Dawson
I've been happy in most respects, except I am an old guy and have to go to the bathroom two or three times a night. I wish this was engineered so you could walk in it, taking it off and putting it on is no fun.
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
 Not bad Dec 22, 2010
By Garoovy
This product meets what i think it was intended to perform. There are no instructions to know how tight to make the straps. It is not something you can walk in, unlike the information contained in the description. I cant seem to wear it all night, but for an hour or two before bedtime. The pain is slowly subsiding on my heel, and my plantar pain is reducing too. It works, but is awkward to wear, put on, and take off. For the price though, i think it fits the bill.
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