Date: Tue, 9 Dec 2008 10:14:42 -0500
To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] s.o.o.t. creating a thin rigid form


Kelly,

You might try a angle bracket (think shelf bracket) from the hardware  
store.  With the right padding and velcro that may be a easy work  
around.

Peter

On Dec 9, 2008, at 9:19 AM, Kelly Lennox wrote:

> Dear Puppetcritters,
> ?
> I labeled this "sort of off topic", because it's not about puppets,  
> yet it's about fabricating. What would be the quickest method to  
> create a flat rigid form, about two inches wide, and about a foot  
> long that can lay on the top of my ankle, following the contour in  
> a (flexed) standing position? My view is to hold my foot in a  
> flexed position in bed, as I am suffering from the dreaded plantar  
> fasciitis, aggravated by tendonitis in my achillies. The reason I  
> want to make this night splint myself is they are between $45 and  
> $80, and I am currently wearing the prescribed $200 bledsoe boot,  
> 24/7 for 6 weeks. It weighs several pounds, and it's wrecking my  
> back rolling over (three weeks in) and I'm kicking my other foot  
> with this huge thing in bed. I thought a night splint would make a  
> more comfortable nocturnal alternative, but they are so expensive,  
> for what they are. I would also prolong suffering by mail ordering  
> one, as no one around me has any at the low end of the cost  
> spectrum and I would have to await the delivery. There has to be a  
> way I can fabricate one, today; all they are is a curved piece of  
> plastic ( lying either against the top of the ankle, or on the back  
> of calf/heel/sole of foot) with velcro straps (which I have yards  
> of) that hold it on by wrapping around the top of the plastic to  
> the ankle/ shin, and the bottom is held in place by more velcro  
> strap. wrapping around the ball of the foot. It's not meant to be  
> walked on. I only need it to keep my toes from pointing while I  
> sleep. It has to be quite rigid, because there is a surprising  
> ammount of pressure under contracture. Toes really want to point  
> when you sleep, and preventing this keeps the muscle streched.
>
> Back in the eighties, there was this plastic that came in inch wide  
> by 6 inch strips, in the craft store. Used to make jewlery, you  
> would put it in hot water to soften it, and it could be formed and  
> cooled to stay rigid. It seems something like this would work, but  
> I haven't seen it for years. Any ideas? Or other puppeting PF  
> sufferers who made their own night splint? If I could bend a large  
> plastic shoe horn in the middle, it would work. You get the idea of  
> what I need to do.
>
> Thanks for your ideas; the pain and lack of sleep has given me  
> quite the mental block! - Kelly
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