Dynamic Splint

[Guest guest]

My son is using a dynamic splint to stretch his Achilles. Does anyone

else use this? Any results to report?

He can't wear it for long as it is uncomfortable (not the stretching

but the hard plate under the ball of his foot). I am trying to figure

out a way to soften the plate without compromising the stretching. Do

you think maybe it is stretching too hard?

Thank you.

Dennis

[Guest guest]

My 5 year old daughter needs to do exercises daily to stretch her heel

cords, but I've never heard of this. I'm curious if anyone else has

used this product, and what you thought of it. I looked it up on the

web and it looks like it might help if you could stand to sleep with it.

Sherry

[Guest guest]

Dennis,

My daughter's PT has her do a stretching exercise 2 times a day on a small ramp

to stretch her Achilles. She actually recommended using like a 1 " binder, but

we made a little ramp with some scrap wood in the shop. She stands on it when

she eats breakfast & when she

has her afternoon snack. It improved her range of motion in just a few weeks.

Hope this helps!

[Guest guest]

,

The small ramp sounds like a great approach.

I've tried different things in the past and had difficulty finding a way to get

a good stretch.  For example, one therapist had me sit down and use a band to

pull my foot toward me.  Since my foot is so weak, the foot folds to the side

and I was straining my tendons on the side of the ankle rather than get a proper

stretch of the achilles.  A similar thing happened with the device that looks

like a rocking wedge.  You put your foot in and roll it backward.  My foot

totally crumbles inside it.  Can't feel a stretch at all, just foot pain/strain.

The only way I've found to get a good stretch is just to lean forward on a

counter or railing and stretch the heel to the ground with a slightly bent knee,

which sounds similar in concept to what you are doing with your daughter.  Both

ways provide more support to the foot which stabilizes weak muscles and the

standing position increases chances of targeting the achilles rather than

straining other areas.  However, the way I'm doing it still puts a lot of

pressure on the foot and I still feel like I'm risking damage to fragile areas,

since sometimes my feet hurt afterwards.  I think the incline sounds like a

safer way to go.  I'll ask hubby to set something like this up so I can give it

a try.  Thanks for the suggestion!

[Guest guest]

Sherry:

What product are you talking about?

Marin from Bridgeport, CT

[Guest guest]

Marin,

I was asking about the dynamic splint mentioned in the original post -

" Dynamic Splint. " There was a link to the product's website included

in the post, which was posted within the last week on this board.

Sherry