Orthotics (orthoses) are shoe inserts that will help modify and improve your foot and lower limb biomechanics. They are a common tool we use to relieve stress on a painful structure if you have an injury or chronic strain. After doing the biomechanical and gait evaluations, we create orthotics that determine these shoe inserts will help your condition.
As mentioned above, we consider your diagnosis in conjunction with angles of measurement, including structural and functional discrepancies in leg length, joint motion ranges, and evaluation of muscle activity (meaning: what is sore and why it is sore).
Why wear orthotics?
A functional foot orthotic helps to control movements and stresses on the foot. We commonly use these to address either flat foot or high arched foot problems. While supination and pronation are a normal part of our feet’s gait cycle, some people have too much of one or the other.
Orthoses allow the foot to absorb shock and adapt to uneven surfaces. However, too much of these motions may cause injury. Many problems with the feet, legs, knees and hips are caused by excessive pronation or supination. Orthotics may prevent injury or deformity from occurring or halt existing problems’ progression and allow healing to occur.
You may benefit from orthotics if you suffer from sore hips, knees, shins, arches, or metatarsal bones. Orthotics are extremely useful in optimising performance and enhancing comfort for athletes and workers on their feet for extended hours.
At Active Podiatry, we use a foot scanner to capture the contour and alignment of the foot, then write an orthoses prescription for the orthoses lab to make your device.
After you have used your orthoses for two to six weeks, we do a review to check-up on progress. Your orthoses should be comfortable, and your symptoms should be improving. If there is a lack of progress or fitting issues, then adjustments will be made, free of charge.
We often carry out adjustments, and an adjustment may be in the early stages after your fitting. However, usually, an adjustment won’t be required for 12 months or even years after your first fitting.
Reasons for adjustments include:
- The orthotics can wear out
- You have developed another problem
- Your original symptoms have returned
Adjustments are easy to do on your existing orthotics. They are relatively inexpensive, too, so don’t be shy to discuss this issue with me. Feet, muscles and activities change over time, and it is normal to require a touch of fine-tuning as you go.
Orthoses repairs
As above, your orthoses will usually last from three to 10 years and may need some repairs. The soft paddings, the covers and posts – and other bits and bobs can wear out. However, the shell of the orthotic will be fine. We can keep the shell and replace the other parts to save you money.