Custom made orthotics are prescription medical devices that are designed to improve biomechanics of your foot, provide control and support that your foot requires. BioMechwhat?  Biomechanics – how your foot and ankle interacts with gravity, the forces of your muscles and ground conditions as you move.

Properly prescribed custom orthotics will alter the way your feet interact with the ground, more adequately controlling the foot motion and eliminating the stress on joints, muscles tendons and ligaments. Orthotics put your foot in the correct position when walking, running even standing; and will improve your overall skeletal alignment (knees, hips, spine). As a result,  not only the symptoms but the specific cause of your foot discomfort can be eliminated.

Who Should Use Custom Made Orthotics?

Almost anyone can benefit from foot orthoses, ranging from children to adults. Since everyone’s feet are unique it is important the orthoses be specifically designed and custom fit to each person’s unique situation in order to eliminate the individual problem. Some of the more qualified practitioners in assessing and treating feet are Chiropodists, Podiatrists or Pedorthists.

Custom orthotics are prescribed to treat a variety of conditions. Some of the most common conditions are listed below:

• Flat feet, high arched feet
• Bunions
• Chronic heel (e.g., plantar fasciitis), knee, or low back pain
• Frequent ankle sprains
• Gait abnormalities (e.g., feet point inward or excessively outward during walking)
• Shin splints
• Morton’s neuroma
• Ankle instability
• Diabetes and arthritis

Your feet should not hurt and if they do, it could indicate a larger health issue that needs to be treated immediately.

How Does an Orthotic Work?

Custom foot orthotics are used to treat abnormally functioning feet during the gait cycle (walking).

One of the foot’s main functions is to absorb shock as the body’s weight shifts with each step. It does this through a complex process in which the arch of the foot flattens slightly. This process is known as pronation and it helps in absorption of the shock when the entire body weight is placed on the foot. There are two major problems that can occur in this mechanism. If the foot flattens too much it will cause the arch of the foot to collapse resulting in flat feet. However, if the foot doesn’t flatten enough (which is usually a case in high arched feet), too little pronation, it will send the shock throughout the leg, resulting in knee, hip and possible lower back pain. Improper redistribution of body weight will result in the previously mentioned conditions.

Problems can present at any stage and custom orthotics are prescribed to address the specific problem. Therefore, a complete biomechanical exam of the foot, both weight and non-weight bearing and gait analysis by a pedorthist is necessary to obtain a detailed clinical picture of the patient.

How Are Orthotics Made?

One of the most important parts in this process is a prescription that addresses the specific problem and the cast (mold) of the patient’s feet. This cast is than used to produce a shell of the orthotic and based on the Pedorthist prescription certain materials and modifications are added in order to achieve a custom made orthotic. A various types of orthotics are available, ranging from diabetic, which are accommodative to highly corrective (i.e. gait plates).