What is the custom orthotic
Custom orthotics are commonly used for a variety of conditions and treatment for lower limb pain and prevention of pain. Orthotics are an assistive device specifically designed to help people with musculoskeletal complaints of the lower limb and low back. Furthermore, custom orthotics help with neuromuscular control (feed back to the brain) from the ankle. Custom inserts help patients to reduce biomechanical over load, assist with arch collapse and distribute body weight equally through the foot.
Over the years technology has progressed from a plaster casts of the patient’s foot to interactive 3D scan of arches, gait analysis and pressure points on your foot.
Benefits of Custom Orthotics
Custom foot orthotics are a conservative, budget friendly and simple treatment to improve ankle, knee, hip and foot pain.
- Reduce foot, ankle, knee, hip or low back pain
- Improve over pronation
- Decrease Medial arch collapse
- Improve weight distribution
- Improve comfort
- Improve foot stability
- Heel cushioning
How Custom Orthotics can help my feet
Custom orthotics in Mississauga are fully personalized for the patient’s needs and wants. Orthotics provide the functional support, cushioning, comfort and help your achy feet. If your are on your feet all day, wearing flats, dress shoe or steal toe boots your feet, ankles, knees, hips or back might hurt at the end of the day. Custom orthotics can provide comfort and support that you need at the end of the day.
Process of making Custom Orthotics
Patients in my office would ask me what type of orthotic do you recommend? That depends on the origin or the root cause of the foot, ankle, knee, hip or even back pain. Before recommending or scanning patients for an orthotic, I perform the physical evaluation to determine the cause of the complaint. Custom orthotics in Mississauga are made from different material and are used for different conditions such as plantar fasciitis, ligament laxity, chronic strain/sprain, shin splints, knee, hip and low back pain. Custom orthotics vary in rigidity, length, height of the medial or transverse arch, add-on for a bunion. They are designed specifically for the individual to accommodate his/her needs, shoe type and preference. Causes for the foot pain/reasons to try custom orthotics
Custom Foot Orthotics for different types of shoes in Mississauga
- Dress shoes
- Slip-ons
- Work boots
- Jogging shoes
- Skates
- Diabetic feet à to prevent open wounds
- People with poor circulation
Importance of Custom orthotics and flat feet
Do your flat feet cause pain? Then you are a good candidate for a fully custom well-fitted orthotics. Custom inserts will provide the support to remove unnecessary stress from the collapsed arch and will decrease the stress from ankles, knees, hips and low back.
How Do I Know If I Need Custom Orthotics
There are several reasons you may need custom orthotic.
- Pain on the bottom of the feet with first few steps in the morning. It is one of the signs and symptoms of the plantar fasciitis. Custom supportive device can relieve the pain.
- Flat Feet (Over pronation) may cause the pain up the kinetic chain, meaning pain in the ankles, knees, hips and low back caused by flat feet.
- Back pain with prolonged walking standing
- Shin splints while running or walking
- High arches may cause the pain up the kinetic chain and cause the pain in the distal joints (ankle, knee, hip and low back)
Custom Orthotics For Runners
Custom orthotics in Mississauga for avid runners can reduce and prevent movement related injuries. Custom orthotics for runners can reduce the impact type of injury by 10%. Some may say it is not a significant number. However, that proves that orthotics provide changes in the muscular control response, decrease vibration through the lower limb while running. Furthermore, orthotics for runners optimize the weight distribution equally through the foot, saves energy leaks, reduces the risk of fatigue type of injuries and provides comfort while running.
Injury in Runners, Why Orthotics can help
Medial arch works as a shock absorber while you walk or run. So, you may ask, “Why do I need orthotics”? Research shows that runners with 4-5 degrees of greater pronation (collapsing medial arch) are more susceptible for a running injury.
Conditions that might require orthotics
- Flat Feet → collapse of the foot arch with entire sole of the foot coming into complete or near complete contact with the ground. This may result in pain up kinetic chain (ankle, knee, hip and back). Furthermore, flat feet are less efficient for sport performance.
- Inversion/Eversion ankle sprain → typically occurs when the ankle suddenly twisted during sport activity. Usually happens when the person steps onto uneven surface and rolls the ankle. Custom orthotics improve the feed back from your feet to the brain which, subsequently helps reduce the risk factor of sprained ankle.
- Chronic ankle sprains → Chronic ankle sprains happen when ordinary ankle sprain left untreated. Bio-mechanics and proper feed-back from the ankle to the head changes and person is unable to prevent ankle sprains on his/her own. Custom orthotics in Mississauga can prevent ordinary ankle sprain becoming a chronic one.
- Shin splints → occurs during physical activity, secondary to repetitive micro trauma and overuse of muscles attaching to the shin bone.
- Tibial stress fracture → once again repetitive and overuse trauma. This may happen when a runner increases the distance drastically. Bone remodels itself over long period of time while undergoing the stress of constant pounding. As the result bone cannot keep up with the remodeling and stress fracture occurs.
- Gastrocs strain (cuff muscle) → while playing tennis you felt sharp or gradual onset of pain in you cuff muscle? This usually happens on the inside of the leg bellow the knee. Soft tissue injury happens when “capacity exceeds demand” in simple terms it means “you ask too much, too quickly from your muscle” and muscle could not keep up.
- Achilles Tendon pain (Tendinopathy) → this is once again a repetitive type of injury. Achilles tendon is very strong and durable. Every day activity can load 10X you body weight through the tendon. Achilles tendon has very limited blood supply thus, treatment of the Achilles tendon is usually longer than a muscle. Uneven weight distribution loads the ligament unevenly and creates greater risks for an injury.
- Metatarsalgia → Forefoot pain that associated with increased stress over metatarsal head region (joint that you use to push off with while walking). while running there is 275% of the body weight goes through first and second metatarsal joint. improper shoes can lead to chronic irritation and pain.
- Morton’s neuroma → Gradual onset of pain in the 2nd/3rd metatarsal joint (joint you use to push off). Pain while wearing tight dress shoes? Morton’s neuroma is a mechanical irritation of the nerve in your foot.
- Metatarsal Stress fracture → result of the micro trauma once again. Sometime call “March fracture”. Absence of adequate rest time between training sessions and or improper foot wear can result in partial or hairline fracture.
- Plantar fasciitis → pain in the foot, especially with first few steps, pain gets better with rest? Those are most common signs of plantar fasciitis. It is a micro trauma to the attachment site of the plantar fascia. Usually improper shoes, hard sole shoes, and/or cuff muscles tightness are the main reasons for the plantar fasciitis.
- Pronation Syndrome → Biomechanical problem that results in collapsing arch in the foot that subsequently results in shin bone, femur and hip joint rotation. Repetitive over pronation (fallen arch) with walking and running. That reduces the shock absorbtion, stability and propultion efficacy. As a result it can lead to fatigue type of injuries.
