Plantar fasciitis is a common cause of foot pain. It is most often experienced in the morning because the thick band of tissue in the sole of the foot, called the plantar fascia, becomes inflamed as a result of contraction during sleep when the foot naturally plantar flexes. Plantar fasciitis splints, also called night splints, help to dorsiflex the foot and stretch the fascia during the night. While the cost of commercial splints can be substantial, making them can be easy and far less expensive.
Step 1
Trim the acetate or Kydex sheet with the box cutter along its length and width. Size varies by person, but it should be 4 inches wider than the widest part of your calf or foot and as long as the distance from your mid-calf to the tip of your toe.
Step 2
Heat the oven to 290 degrees, or the temperature suggested by the manufacturer of the sheet. Lay the sheet inside the oven on top of the oven's rack or on any other large, even surface inside the oven. Heat for two minutes, or longer if suggested by the manufacturer.
Step 3
Remove the sheet from the oven using oven mitts. With the mitts still on and while the sheet is moldable, work your fingers down the left and right edges, 2 inches in from each edge, and turn each edge up. Give the edges a gentle fold instead of a sharp turn. The resulting sheet should look like a long trough, open at both ends.
Step 4
Mold the plastic sheet into an L-shape with the oven mitts. If necessary, you can reheat the sheet in the oven again to soften it. The L-shape should have approximately 40 percent of the sheet forming the bottom of the L and 60 percent forming the top. The bend also should have a gentle curve, roughly the curve matching that of your heel. The shell of the leg splint is now complete.
Step 5
Apply spray adhesive to the inside of the leg splint shell once it has fully cooled. Then insert the foam rubber sheet into the shell and ensure it adheres to the shell in all flat and corner areas.
Step 6
Glue the Velcro straps to the outer part of the shell with the glue gun. You will need two straps on the foot and two straps on the leg. Glue the Velcro so that all hooks, or rough surfaces, are on one side and all eyes, or fuzzy surfaces, are on the other side.
Step 7
Strap your foot and leg into the splint with the Velcro straps.
Tips and Warnings
- The thicker the moldable plastic, the more time it takes to heat it for molding and the more rigid the splint. If you have a large foot and leg, the shell can bend with time. It might be necessary to add a support, or strut, from the foot to the calf using duct tape on each side. Wear a knee-high sport sock in the leg splint for added comfort. You can make adjustments to specific areas of the plastic sheet using a heat gun to warm it.
- Never handle the hot sheet without oven mitts.
Things You'll Need
- 12-by-18-inch sheet of heat-moldable ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) or Kydex
- 12-by-18-inch, ¼-inch-thick foam rubber sheet
- Elmer's Multi-Purpose Spray Adhesive
- Glue gun
- Box cutters
- Kitchen oven with rack
- Two oven mitts
- Four 2-by-12-inch Velcro fasteners
