Custom Foot Orthotics
What are Custom Foot Orthotics?
Custom made foot orthotics are medical devices that are used to help support, align, correct or protect the feet. Fabricated inserts worn inside shoes, to support and improve alignment and function. This provides cushioning and redistribution of force during ground contact, which most importantly helps to ease your pain and relieve stress from the body tissues.
Who can benefit?
Starting from the bottom up, proper foot biomechanics are key to correct body movement and function. Dysfunctional joints, muscles, or tendons within the feet, if left unattended, can cause disruption to food function and structure. For example, this can initiate pain within the feet, which possibly may cause biomechanical compensations resulting in knee, hip, and or low back pain. A solution may involve the use of orthotics, custom made to fit you.
The symptoms of faulty foot mechanics may begin with any of the following:
- Localised foot pain
- Bunions, hammer toes
- Arch or heel pain
- Leg or knee pain
- Hip or back pain, and even neck pain
- Shin splints
- Flat feet
Foot Examination
To determine if custom fit orthotics are needed, we will construct a comprehensive management plan after completing a thorough history and physical examination. This will include a structural and functional analysis of your gait with the most advanced GaitScan™ technology, along with orthopedic testing to determine the bio-mechanical support of your feet. Information is then sent to the high quality foot orthotics laboratory and custom orthotics are made specifically for your feet.
GaitScan™
Our feet are in contact with the ground for about 0.8 of a second when walking and 0.25 of a second when running. Imagine trying to determine normal or abnormal foot function with the naked eye in a quarter of a second! This is too difficult even for the most experienced practitioner.
The GaitScan™ is the most advanced pressure plate technology with 4096 sensors and a scan rate of 300Hz to capture foot pressure in 2D or 3D. It records your timing sequences as you walk or run across the pressure plate. This information is used to determine if custom made orthotics are necessary.