Night splinting for conditions such as tendonitis and plantar fasciitis can be effective in alleviating painful symptoms. Once the part of the body requiring splinting is identified, making your own night splint can be easy and inexpensive.
Step 1
Trim the plastic sheet with the box cutter knife along its length and width to the appropriate size of the joint being splinted. It should roughly be 4 inches wider than the widest part of the joint you are trying to splint. It also should extend about halfway up each limb of the joint.
Step 2
Warm the plastic sheet in the oven at 290 degrees, or to the manufacturer's suggested temperature for effectively working the plastic. The plastic sheet should be laid inside the oven on top of the oven's rack or on any other appropriate flat and even surface in the oven. Warm the plastic sheet for about two minutes.
Step 3
Use oven mitts to remove the plastic from the oven. Keep the oven mitts on your hands to work the plastic sheet while it is still warm and soft. Use your fingers to curve 2 inches of each edge upward to form a trough that is open at each end. Each curve should be gentle and not an abrupt right angle.
Step 4
Mold the plastic sheet into a right angle shape with the oven mitts still on and while the sheet is still warm. A symmetrical right angle is appropriate for either the knee or elbow joints. For a wrist splint, no angle bending is needed. For an ankle joint splint, the part of the right angle that is to be on the foot portion of the splint should be shorter than the calf portion, and should extend the foot's entire length. You can reheat the plastic sheet again in the oven if it becomes too hard to work. Be mindful of the bend in the angle you want to create for a particular joint. There should be a gentle curve in the bend, approximately matching the curve of the joint. The splint's shell is now complete.
Step 5
Glue the foam rubber sheet onto the inside of the splint using the spray adhesive once the splint has dried. Insure the foam rubber has stuck to all angles and corners of the splint and trim any overhanging material with a scissor.
Step 6
Use the glue gun to adhere the Velcro straps to the outer part of the splint. Each person and joint anatomy is different and may require some modifications. However, generally two Velcro straps should secure one side of the joint to the splint and two other straps should secure the other side of the joint. For convenience, insure the fuzzy side of each strap is on one side of the splint while the rough side of each strap is on the other side of the splint.
Step 7
Strap your joint firmly into the splint and tighten the Velcro straps. Do not over tighten.
Tips and Warnings
- Thicker moldable plastic is more rigid but will take more time to heat and soften. Whichever joint is being immobilized, it is best to wear protective covering when using the splint. For example, wear a sport sock on the foot and leg or on the hand and wrist.
- Use a heat gun to make pinpoint adjustments. Only handle the warm plastic while wearing oven mitts.
Things You'll Need
- Plastic sheet of heat moldable ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) or Kydex
- Foam rubber sheet
- Elmer's Multipurpose Spray Adhesive
- Glue gun
- Box cutter knife
- Scissor
- Kitchen oven with rack
- Two oven mitts
- 4 pieces of Velcro fastener, 2 inches wide, 12 inches long
References
- "TrailBlazer Magazine"; Fractures and Splinting; Willis Lamm; 1995
- "American Family Physician"; Principles of Casting and Splinting; Dr. Anne S. Boyd et al; Jan. 1, 2009
- "Introduction to Splinting: A clinical Reasoning and Problem Solving Approach"; B. Coppard and H. Lohman; 2010
