Any way to make shoes that vibrate?
January 6, 2015 8:45 PM   Subscribe

I've developed some serious neuropathy in my feet and have found remarkable relief through introducing vibration to my feet - whether through a tuning fork or by placing them against softly vibrating surface. I'm wondering if there's some way to make my shoes vibrate?

I know technology is in the works on this for fall prevention in seniors (http://goodvibrationshoes.com). In the meantime, I've been looking into discreet vibrators, tooth brushes, or other small battery-controlled objects that I could place into my shoes. What am I missing? Any ideas?
posted by lotusfeet to Technology (9 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Check out LilyPad Arduino. It's a set of micro controllers and components designed for wearable electronic applications. The LilyPad Vibe Board would be quite easy to embed in a shoe, and if you wanted to get fancy, you could hook it up to an accelerometer or pressure sensor to give you tactile feedback as you walk.
posted by embrangled at 9:00 PM on January 6, 2015 [3 favorites]


You could just get a pager motor (the sort of thing that makes your phone vibrate), a small battery, some hot-glue and (maybe) a switch. (Sorry: having trouble finding a link for for smaller quantities).
posted by pompomtom at 9:25 PM on January 6, 2015 [1 favorite]


You might want to try a TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) unit. Here's one on Amazon that only costs $40.00.
posted by LuckySeven~ at 9:40 PM on January 6, 2015 [1 favorite]


Addendum to my previous post -- after reading some of the reviews, I came across this review regarding the unit I linked on Amazon:

"Although the title on Amazon says TENS, the unit that arrived never mentions that phrase and instead makes clear that this is an Electronic Muscle Stimulator (EMS). While an EMS unit can have very valuable uses, it functions differently from a Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator (TENS) unit.

A TENS unit stimulates the nerve endings to temporarily mask pain while the EMS unit stimulates the muscles to improve muscular function (often reducing pain as well, but its primary focus is healing). But the two units work on different electrical currencies, and are designed to do different things. Those who need a TENS unit may not want to be using an EMS unit because stimulating the muscle may increase the pain.

On this unit, there is a "beat" function that attempts to replicate the same concept as a TENS unit, but it does not use the same electrical current and it only lasts for 15 minutes per session, which is great for EMS but not great for TENS uses.

Bottom line . . . if you're looking for an EMS, this may be great. But if you are looking for a true TENS unit, this is not for you."


I have a true TENS unit, prescribed by my physical therapist. It's a GEM-STIM and it only uses one 9 volt battery and works very effectively for my back and neck pain.
posted by LuckySeven~ at 10:15 PM on January 6, 2015


Blushing a bit as I type this but, there are vibrators that are used for sexual pleasure that are small enough to put in your shoe. Adam and Eve is a good company to use. Amazon also sells them but then that is in your search results and purchase history forever. Choose shoes with a hard sole. A good pair of real boots will give you more vibration than a pair of running shoes.
posted by myselfasme at 5:49 AM on January 7, 2015 [1 favorite]


I would buy thick insoles and either as suggested above a micro-bullet vibrator either wireless or corded or a couple of cheap pager motors such as you can buy to make bristle bots and place their leads on either side of a watch battery. Check to make sure your rig doesn't generate temperatures that could burn you without you noticing. I would probably go with a commercial vibe for ease of regulating the strength.
posted by Iteki at 6:45 AM on January 7, 2015


I'm in a similar situation to you. I have neuropathy in my legs and feet, and I've found that actual sensations help alleviate the distractions caused by the phantom sensations.

I haven't tried vibrators, but I have found that a variety of different textured socks, leggings, and stockings can help. For example, right now I'm wearing three layers: knee high stockings on the bottom, then fleece tights, then cotton socks. Wearing stockings under socks is particularly effective because the stockings are a little rough and the two fabrics slide against each other.

I'd encourage you to experiment, and if you're a guy get over any issues about wearing women's socks, stockings, etc. There is much more variety made for women, all sorts of textures and variations.

Good luck with this!
posted by The Grand Old Duke of York at 7:26 AM on January 7, 2015 [2 favorites]


I want to second the TENS machine - if you get one with a small enough control, you should easily be able to strap it to your leg maybe with some velcro and run the pad right into your shoe. It would be very discrete, if that's what you're going for. But in this case you'd actually need two machines - one for each leg (since wearing pants there's no way to feed one pad down each leg unless the wires were really, really long and you strapped the unit in the crotch area...which seems like a bad idea.

We have the Dr. Ho, just for another example. It's pricey. There's no particular reason we bought that model, only that a friend had it.
posted by kitcat at 1:11 PM on January 7, 2015


Response by poster: Thanks everyone!

I've tried the socks-on-socks strategy with some early success! Will keep doing that.

I tried a commercial bullet vibrator heavily taped inside a loose shoe--it stopped working within a week.

At the moment, I'm using two hot water bottles under my feet at my desk. I glued textured plastic material onto them. I fill them partially with water so the warble changes contact/sensation against my feet. The variation in contact appears to interrupt the pain signals. Bonus: I can fill them with hot water to keep my feet warm!

Finally, I'm looking into a TENS machine -- a holiday wish-list item, it seems.

Cheers everyone.
posted by lotusfeet at 5:01 PM on January 21, 2015


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