What is an Orthotic?
An orthotic is an insert made to go inside your shoes. It can be as simple as a heel lift, or a custom orthotic made to support your arch type or treat your specific pathology.
What can an Orthotic do?
Orthotics can help treat not only foot and ankle pain, but can also help relieve hip, knee, and back pain. Your lower limbs work as a unit and if one part isn’t biomechanically functioning the way it should, this can affect other aspects of lower limb, leading to pain. Orthotics can help treat this because they can help realign your lower limb from the foundation. Orthotics can help put your feet in the correct alignment, leading to pain relief.
How are Orthotics made?
Custom orthotics are made by first taking a mold of your feet in office. This can be done electronically with a scan or plaster. Your podiatrist will also do a biomechanical exam, take into consideration your foot pathology and what is causing your pain and write a prescription based off of their evaluation to have a pair of custom orthotics made for you.
What is an Orthotic made of?
Orthotics have a top cover, frame and bottom cover.
The top cover can help add cushion, or wick away moisture. They can be made out of material such as spenco, prolite, EVA, suede and much more. The bottom cover uses material to help with slippage and can be made from materials such as suede, protex, or myolite. The frame is the main part of the orthotic and can be made of different materials to be more or less rigid or flexible. The frame is the main part of the orthotic that controls the position of your heel and the level of arch support.
Orthotics are a great tool that can be used to lead to pain relief not only in the foot and ankle, but also in the knees, hip and back!
Call (847) 380-3700 today to schedule an appointment to talk about your custom pair of orthotics!