Custom orthotics are custom-made three-dimensional medical devices that are placed in your shoe to help the pain and discomfort caused imbalances in alignment of the foot and ankle. They gently reposition the heel, arch, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and bones in the feet, enabling these structures to work together as nature intended, to make each step you take pain-free. They’re typically made with comfortable thermoplastic materials, which are guaranteed to last for years, and can be designed to fit in dress shoes, athletic shoes, boots, and skates. Unlike over the counter shoe inserts, custom-made orthotics are built from molds of YOUR feet to meet YOUR unique needs.
Custom orthotics have many benefits to the wearer. Some of the benefits of wearing custom orthotics are:
Custom Orthotics Provide Pain Relief
Custom orthotics can help those who suffer not only from foot pain but also from back pain, pain in their hips or knees, arthritis-related pain and those with a diabetic foot. Orthotics are typically designed to ensure that the bones, ligaments and tendons in your feet and lower legs are aligned and positioned properly. This helps to ease pain and stress on the feet, and can improve the functioning of the muscles over time.
Custom Orthotics Improve Sports Performance
People who are active in sports may find that a custom orthotic may help them to increase endurance, strength and performance abilities by keeping the foot in its most efficient alignment, allowing the bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments to work at 100% efficiency. This would also prevent injuries as well.
Custom Orthotics Make Standing Jobs More Comfortable
You might also consider foot orthotics if you simply have a job that requires you to be on your feet all day. Constant pressure on your feet and consistent tasks performed while standing on hard, uncomfortable surfaces can leave you with recurring pain
Custom Orthotics Relieve Stress of Additional Weight
Being overweight or heavy places extreme force on your feet. This can lead to pain in the
heels, arches, ball of feet, ankles and knees. In addition, the force placed on the feet when carrying excess weight can cause long-term foot and ankle damage, including arthritis.Orthotics can counteract the high forces that damage the feet and ankles helping to relieve pain and prevent long-term damage.
Custom Orthotics Protect the Diabetic Foot
Diabetes frequently results in neuropathy (nerve damage) in the feet which can lead to sensation loss which can leave a patient unable to feel pain, heat or cold. As such, diabetics need to wear foot devices that protect their feet at pressure points where the skin can break down and allow bacteria to enter the body. By wearing custom orthotics, a diabetic has adequate motion control in high friction areas of the foot where the skin tends to break down and ulcerate, Orthotics for diabetics can also provide support and shock absorption to lower the overall risk of developing Charcot foot.
Custom Orthotics Relieve Arthritis Pain
Arthritis is a destructive condition which affects the body’s joints. When it strikes certain joints in the body, a variety of painful conditions can arise. In many cases, foot orthoses can be employed to help patients retain and enhance mobility. Up to 85 percent of people with Rheumatoid arthritis will experience painful feet or ankles at sometime during their life with this disease. One way to minimize problems, and pain, caused by arthritis in the feet or ankles is to correct misalignments and poor biomechanics in the feet with custom orthotics. Custom orthotics work by redistributing weight and relieving pressure on the areas of your feet that hurt. They can also help correct your gait
If you think your quality of life could be improved with custom orthotics, please contact us to make an appointment.