Tight achilles tendon in the morning, I have a night splint from a round with PF. It works but digs a bit into the front of my ankle. Was thinking of trying the sock, but have not heard the best reviews…
So what say the ST guru’s?
A more rigid night splint works much better for a passive “achilles” stretch. The Strassberg sock was designed to dorsiflex the toes more, in addition to the posterior muscle group, for plantar fasciitis type issues primarily.
Thanks, night splint it is.
Buy either/both from amazon.com. The local medical supply stores tend to be 2-3X the price.
Jamie
I am running and I have plantar fasciitis. My podiatrist recommended the use of a night splint and I also use a rigid one - did not try the sock. I have found a good post on the subject of night splints for plantar fasciitis in the link.
What the doc said -night splint. The Strassborg sock never did much for me. If you need a large, shoot me a PM with you addy and I will send it your way.
Tried several night splints over the last two years. Started with the 3M Futuro…but that holds the foot from the top / front and did not like the pressure it put under the ball of my foot.
The I used one from Brown which had an overall softer feel and used webbing straps crossing to hold the ankel @ 90 degrees. SOmewhat more comfortable than the 3M, but had a tough time holding the ankle @ 90*. This was partly due to having skinny legs and the straps and not ebing able to get the straps tight enough.
This is the model I am using now…I think it is from Swede O. Brown makes a similar model. Picked it up at a local triathlon expo. Obviously more bulky than the other two units which makes sleeping a bit more challneging, but it gives me the best overall support. It is adjustable so I can vary the angle that I hold my ankle at night. SO far, I have been pretty happy with it.
+1 on the splint in lower pic on your post. I had achiles tendonitis (sp?) a couple years ago and wore that one for about 6 months or so. It was bulky, but, I got used to it and it was the most effective, IMO. Really did the trick.
Once it started to get better (the season was over, I rested it and did PT), I transitioned to a less intrusive one like the one pictured below. I used this for about 4 months until the problem went away entirely.
In our office we recommend the lower splint as well. It’s a little tough to get used to sometimes but, for the first couple days, sleep with your foot hanging over the foot of the bed after you’ve un-tucked all the sheets/blankets. If you wake up in the middle of the night and you’ve “had it” simply undo the velcro and let the brace fall on the floor. You’ll eventually get used to it and they work well as a static stretcher.
John
Rigid Splint for Achilles issues and Sock for PF issues has worked best for me.
Hey Doc where can you pic that lower splint up, Im not in your area so can’t use your office.
https://www.drtodds.com/foot-care-products/Pro-Tec-Night-Splint
http://www.amazon.com/Best-Night-Splints/lm/R2FZLHKBU5JOP5
.
Looks like Power 13 has us both beat.
John
I’ve been using this night splint for achilles problems,
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001PAWOX0
but have not managed to adapt to it - wake up after a couple of hours with intense pain on top of the foot, adjust the straps however I will. Not sure if it’s this particular splint or a personal problem. Maybe I’ll try the Swede-O.
Neither,
I tried both. I would wake up in the morning to find the splint/sock across the room where I had thrown it the night before – with no memory whatsoever of having done that. It was uncomfortable no matter how tight/loosely I put it on and at some point during the night I would take it off.
My solution was what I did when I was awake. I would get up in the morning, sit down on the couch for ten minutes and massage the hell out of my calves. Really would dig in there with my thumbs on every part of the muscle (not just the thick part near the top but all of it) and would make sure to do it for at least ten minutes. If it was a cold day, I would fill up a little cooler with hot water from the tub and soak them in it to get the blood in there. I would do ankle rotations too.
That pretty much got rid of PF for me in short order. I can’t say it will help you but it could. The problem is that most people do not have the discipline to do that. They just want to get running.
The problem with PF and/or a tight Achilles is not (in my experience) the tendon. That’s the symptom. The root of the problem is more often the ***muscle ***that the tendon attaches to. That is the thing that becomes stiff. Its stiffness causes more pull on the tendon. Consequently it is the thing that is most responsive to massage/stretching. Try leaving the tendon alone and be sure the muscles surrounding it are loose and warm. I think you’ll get good results.