The TenderFoot™ is a simple but effective means to relieve debilitating foot pain.

The straightforward therapeutic routine makes it easy to get started and you can adjust the intensity of your routine as your symptoms improve.

Most users experience improvement during their first session with the TenderFoot™.

Please play the video to learn more.

Getting Started: Some Important Tips

• Use only on a carpeted surface!
  Do not use your TenderFoot™ on a bare wood, tile or stone floor.
  
  
• Handle carefully!
  Be sure not to drop the TenderFoot™ on your toes or floor.
  
  
• Hold on for balance!
  A chair or counter will help stabilize you.
  
  
• Start slowly and increase intensity only as you gain experience!
  Too much may initially hurt.

Your TenderFoot™ is manufactured in the USA from solid, high-quality aluminum with knurled surfaces. Its weight and textured surface help it deliver the feel and results you need, but it must be used with care. Always place the TenderFoot™ on a carpet, rug or carpet scrap, both to get best results and to protect your floor.

Be very careful not to drop the TenderFoot™. It is heavy and will damage your wood, tile or stone floors. And while it is amazingly effective at relieving certain foot pains, it may cause considerable injury and pain if dropped on feet or toes; place it carefully on the floor.

An effective therapeutic routine requires you to maintain your balance and be able to relax while resting most of your weight on one foot and rolling the other forward and back. Choose a location where you will have something to hold onto to steady yourself – a counter, dresser, chair back or door frame will usually work nicely.

Most people find it best to start the TenderFoot™ therapeutic routine in short, low-intensity sessions. After a day or two you will begin to get a feeling for how long, how many and how hard a session will give you the most relief. Begin with at least one session a day lasting up to three minutes with minimal pressure.

Quick Start

The TenderFoot™ is designed to be used without socks or shoes.

Place the TenderFoot™ on a carpeted surface, beneath and slightly behind you. Get well balanced and hold on to something; a counter, dresser or door frame works well. Place the toes of your affected foot lightly on the TenderFoot™, and slowly roll your foot forward over the TenderFoot™. Stop before you feel you are reaching too far out in front of you. Now roll your foot back toward you slowly. It’s that simple.

You want to position the TenderFoot™ so that the forward and back motion doesn’t throw you off balance. Don’t use the Tenderfoot itself for balance because it is likely to roll out from underneath you. This is particularly true when you are reaching too far forward and your heel is all that’s on it. Always use only one foot at a time on the TenderFoot™!

Start slowly rolling your foot gently back and forth over the roller. Pay attention to how much pressure, what position and what speed gives you the most effective results.

There is no advantage to heavy pressure or to quickness. If high pressure or speed seems to feel good to you, start with mild pressure and only increase it after you have experienced the results of a few sessions. Using too much pressure, too soon, may cause your foot to overwork and result in a mild ache the following day. If you experience follow-up pain, ease your session intensity and duration until the pain diminishes.

Adjust Your TenderFoot™ Sessions to Your Feet

You will find that you need to adjust the amount and intensity of TenderFoot™ sessions according to how your feet feel. For some this will be easy to judge, others will need to pay careful attention. Be cautious at the beginning, start slowly and learn from how your feet react to each TenderFoot™ session.

A good place to begin would be with 10 to 30 light, slow rolls over the TenderFoot™. This activity will “warm up” your foot and get the blood circulating. Many people experience a slight tingling sensation from this activity. Next try focusing your efforts on the area that is bothering you.

The session should last no more than three minutes and use mild foot pressure to explore how the TenderFoot™ affects your feet. Try to do at least one session per day. At the beginning you will probably find that multiple sessions per day are quite helpful.

An ideal time for a session seems to be early morning or just prior to an on-your-feet activity. We encourage you to find a regular time when the TenderFoot™ is easily available. Since you will be using it with your feet bare most people find it convenient to store the TenderFoot™ in their bedroom where they can use it before getting dressed and when changing shoes.

Therapeutic Tips

Each individual and each individual foot condition will benefit from different approaches with the TenderFoot™.

Professional Advice
Anyone with acute or chronic foot pain will benefit from professional advice. We encourage you to seek out a Physical Therapist for specific instructions as to how to make the best and safest use of your TenderFoot™.

Session Length
Start with sessions three minutes or less and work your way up to perhaps five minutes as you discover how your foot handles the sessions. Starting with too much pressure or too long a duration can cause some people to experience follow-up pain.

Intensity
A session’s intensity is measured by the length of time you stay on the TenderFoot™ and the pressure you apply. A mild session lasts approximately three minutes and uses considerably less than half your body weight as pressure on the TenderFoot™.

Acute Pain
If your foot is inflamed you must use the TenderFoot™ lightly and not over do it. This is a time when using the TenderFoot™ cold may be helpful. (See the “Cold TenderFoot™” section.) Often people will describe acute pain as burning, aching, stiff or jabbing pain.

Do easy light workouts until you feel clear improvement and increase the intensity only if it does not cause increased follow-up pain.

Chronic Pain
If you have experienced pain in your foot over a long period of time you will probably need to increase the number of sessions and their intensity. This is a time to explore cautiously what feels good. Many chronic pain suffers find moderate to heavy pressure is effective once they are used to the TenderFoot™.

Soft Feel
Your goal is to change hard or stiff areas of your foot’s muscles to a softer more plastic feel. Think of scar tissue as hard, and healthy skin as plastic and you will have the general idea.

Night Splint Users
If you are using a night splint, it is a strong indication that you may be more susceptible to increasing the inflammation in your foot, so use the TenderFoot™ lightly until it is clear what pressure benefits you. Also try it cold.

Listen to Your Feet

As you use the TenderFoot™ on a daily basis, your feet will tell you what progress is being made. Pay attention to how they feel while you’re doing your routine and how they feel during the rest of the day. Don’t overdo it! It is fine to feel like you’ve worked out, but you shouldn’t push so much you increase your pain.

Most people benefit from keeping a simple daily chart of their sessions. It can be important to note how your feet feel each morning; how many, how long and how hard your sessions were; any follow-up pain you experienced; how you would rate your foot pain during the day.

You can target specific areas of your feet by utilizing the various surface features of the TenderFoot™, i.e., the angled shoulders might get into deeper spots if that seems like it would feel good. Again start gently and experiment.

Hot and Cold

The TenderFoot™ therapeutic roller is made from solid aluminum, a material that quickly grabs and retains heat or cold. After you’ve tried it at room temperature we encourage you to see if heat or cold enhances your therapy.

Hot TenderFoot™:
Never heat the TenderFoot™ in a microwave, oven or on a stove top!

Hot tap water is all it takes to add the dimension of heat therapy to your routine. Place a towel in a sink to protect the sink’s surface and then place the TenderFoot™ on the towel. (A large plastic bowl in a sink works well too.) You can then heat it by running very warm water over it for a minute or two; be very careful about getting it so hot that it’s uncomfortable on your hands or feet.

Try the heated TenderFoot™ when you have foot stiffness or a chronic low-grade ache. A heated TenderFoot™ is also a delight on cold days.

Cold TenderFoot™:
Never touch a frozen TenderFoot™ with wet hands, feet or a tongue! They may stick to it!

Try placing the TenderFoot™ in the freezer overnight to add the benefit of cold to your morning routine. A pair of gloves or a dish towel may make it more comfortable to handle when it’s cold. Be especially careful when you take it out of the freezer to not drop it on your floor or feet.

A cold TenderFoot™ is particularly helpful for inflamed feet and acute pain. Never do a hard or long session on an inflamed foot.

A List of Do Not's
Here are some common sense warnings worth mentioning due to TenderFoot™'s size and weight. Please bear these in mind.

• Do not drop the TenderFoot™ on your hardwood or tile flooring (or toes!).
  
  
• Do not roll the TenderFoot™ on your hardwood or tile flooring.
  
  
• Do not heat the TenderFoot™ with a microwave or conventional oven, on the stovetop, or with open flame.
  
  
• Please keep out of reach of children.
  
  
• The TenderFoot™ roller is intended solely as a foot roller.
  

Consult your doctor before beginning any new exercise or therapy program.

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