Sinister Manipulations

21 April 2010

In response to my entry reporting that I'd developed plantar fasciitis, Ronnie Ashlock suggested that I look at an entry in Rational Fitness Blog by Scott Helsley. I was persuaded thereby to increase the amount of stretching that I did, and to order a pair of Heel That Pain heel seats and a Strassburg Sock™.

I first tried the heel seats in my boots (which I normally wear every other day), replacing the more ordinary heel seats thereïn. Rather than seeming to help, the new seats made the left foot hurt as if its fasciitis were worsening, and the right foot hurt as if it too had fasciitis. I then tried the seats in my walking shoes (which I wear on the days that I don't wear the boots), on top of the replacement insoles that I'd put in those shoes after the fasciitis developed. The seats seem to work well in the walking shoes.

The Strassburg Sock™ is to be worn when sleeping or sedentary. It stretches the fascia by flexing the toes upwards. My sister-in-law offered me the use of splint that instead flexes the heel, but the Sock seemed like a better idea. (When my sister-in-law had suffered from plantar fasciitis, she'd been unable to use a Sock because of recent injury to her toes.) Anyway, the Sock certainly keeps my fascia stretched while I'm wearing it. I cannot sleep wearing it for more than a few hours, but my sister-in-law reported the same problem with her splint. The Strassburg Sock™ has to be hand-washed and air-dried, so I'd need to have two (or live somewhere that afforded faster drying) to wear one every night.

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2 Responses to Sinister Manipulations

  • The Apocolyte says:

    Daniel,
    That sock resembles some kind of hellish torture device!

    • Daniel says:

      The Sock may indeed look H_llish, but there's little chance that someone making a good-faith effort to follow the instructions would even accidentally hurt him- or herself with it.

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