Sports

Orthotics can help

In athletic individuals, sports activities result in a great deal of movement and pressure on the foot. Slight imbalances in the foot that are not harmful or even detectable under usual circumstances may make one more vulnerable to injury with the extra stress of sports activity. By eliminating the need for one's muscles to compensate for imperceptible imbalances, orthotics can reduce fatigue and promote efficient muscle function to enhance performance. With enough functional correction, the foot structure can be aligned to give more propulsion, making walking, running and cycling more mechanically efficient. Foot orthotics allow the muscles, tendons and bones of the feet and lower legs to function at their highest potential. When appropriately prescribed, orthotics can decrease pain, not only in the foot, but in other parts of the body such as the knee, hip and lower back. They can also increase stability in an unstable joint, prevent a deformed foot from developing additional problems, and improve overall quality of life.

Pronation and supination

Pronation and supination are the normal movements the foot makes to absorb the impact from walking or running. It occurs once the heel strikes the ground (supination) and the foot disperses the impact, stretching and flattening the arch as the foot rolls inward (pronation). Pronation is nothing other than an inward rolling motion of the foot and supination is the opposite motion - an outward rolling motion of the foot.

Excessive pronation causes the foot's arch to collapse which in turn causes the foot to twist outwards. A person with excessive pronation generally walks abnormally, on the inner edge of the foot. This stresses and misaligns the bones, ligaments, muscles and tendons in the foot, leg and even the back. Eventually, this misalignment brings about muscular inefficiency, reducing speed and endurance while walking or running.

Excessive supination predisposes the ankle to injury because the stabilizing muscles on the outside of the lower leg (peroneals) are in a stretched position. It does not take much force to cause the ankle to roll over, potentially causing ligament damage.

Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis is a painful inflammatory condition caused by excessive wear to the plantar fascia of the foot. The plantar fascia is a strong elastic like tissue on the bottom of the foot. It's attached from the heel to the balls of the foot. The job of the plantar fascia is to strech and contract to help absorb shock from walking and running. The pain usually is felt on the underside of the heel, and is often most intense with the first steps of the day. It is commonly associated with long periods of weight bearing. Obesity, weight gain, jobs that require a lot of walking on hard surfaces, shoes with little or no arch support, and inactivity are also associated with the condition. This condition often results in a heel spur, in which case it is the underlying condition, and not the spur itself, which produces the pain.

The majority of plantar fasciitis cases are caused by excessive motion in the foot. Excessive pronation is usually the cause. A custom made orthotic coupled with the proper footwear will enable the foot to function without excessive motion there by allowing it to heal while you are on your feet.    

Tendonitis

Tendonitis is a common sports injury that often occurs from overuse. Tendonitis can cause deep, nagging pain that is caused by inflammation of tendons.

Tendons are tough, fibrous tissue throughout the body that connect muscles to bones. For a variety of reasons (the stress of repeated motion, a traumatic injury or biomechanic issues) a tendon may becoming irritated or inflamed. When this happens the smooth motion of tendons becomes painful. This irritation is called tendonitis (inflammation of the tendon).

Orthotics help stabilize the foot and keep the muscles and tendons from over working. Achilles tendonitis, runners or jumpers knee (patellar tendonitis) and post tib tendonitis are common sports injuries that orthotics can help.

Foot Abnormalities and deformities such as, bunions, hammer toes, flat feet, club foot, can also be helped with orthotics by providing support, protection and increase comfort.