United Ortho Plantar Fasciitis Adjustable Leg Support Brace Fits Right or Left Foot for Soreness Relief, Foot Pain and Stretching, Large, Black

This splint takes some getting used to, but it has been extremely helpful in reducing my PF pain.ADJUSTING THE FIT IS VERY IMPORTANT!!! See below. I can’t say it ended up being super comfortable, but it has become tolerable to a point that I can wear it long enough to reduce my heel pain. I wear a women’s 8.5 shoe and I purchased a size medium.I fractured my calcaneus a few months ago for the second time (first time was 4 years ago) and after being in a boot for 6 weeks this past May/June, I developed plantar fasciitis in the months following. It had gotten to the point where my first step of the morning, or after any amount of time sitting, I had excruciating pain in my heel. It brought me to tears a few times. I spoke to my ortho again and I was just advised to get expensive custom orthotics and “stretch my foot” before getting out of bed in the morning (already doing that!).Over a month’s time I wasted a lot of money on different things and none of these helped at all:-straussburg sock-Neoprene “boot” with strap from toe to another strap that fastened around the top of my calf to keep foot flexed (extremely uncomfortable, caused my big toe to go numb after 10-15min of use, did not keep my foot flexed enough)-Night splint that goes on the top of the ankle and foot to keep foot flexed (difficult to put on, did not keep foot flexed enough, painful for the top of my foot)-PF compression socks (did nothing but make my toes puff up!)-compression band fitting around the arch of my foot (again, just made my foot swell on either side of the band)-massage ball to roll on the bottom of my foot (not sure I had enoug time to use this long enough for it to help - became painful after a few minutes)*************I finally settled on this splint after reading the reviews. When I first got it, I mistakenly assumed (as others did) this splint had to be tight enough to keep my heel settled into the split. I put it on and adjusted the straps. Within minutes my toes were going numb and I had pain on the top of my foot.I figured it was going in the pile of other failed products. Then I came back and read the review by “Victor” again, because he mentioned how to adjust the splint to be comfortable but still effective. He said:“I keep the top strap (Calf) tight which keeps the splint in place. The middle strap (Ankle) I tightened so it is AGAINST my skin but not tight. The bottom strap (Top of foot) I keep loose, to help visualize about how loose, I can slide my pinky finger easily across the top of my foot between my foot and the strap. I found that this was the strap which was cutting off circulation to my toes and causing me a lot of pain.”If you follow these instructions it is a huge difference. I first started wearing the splint this way for a couple of hours before I would go to sleep, while I was laying down watching tv. I did this for about 2 nights. Then I began to wear it through the night. The first night I lasted about 5 hours with it before becoming frustrated. Second night about 6 hours. Then I made it the whole night on the 3rd try. Now I have been able to wear it through the whole night for 3 nights.So...I have been using this about a week now and my PF pain has improved dramatically. I also got a cylindrical massage roller for the arch of my foot (less sharp texture than the ball) and after sleeping in this splint all night, I roll my foot on the massage roller for a minute, then I am able to get up and take steps without the stabbing heel pain I was having.This splint definitely has a learning curve but I have found it to be the most effective treatment so far. I wish I had tried this first before wasting money on so many other items first.**Of note - If you have very wide calves over ~20” I would reconsider this or you will have to rig something up with an extra strap as the strap only adjusts to length for about that size.