Most people have experienced foot pain at some point in time. In fact, more than half of all Americans have missed at least one day of work because of a foot issue. But, to be fair, it shouldn’t come as a surprise, since our feet bear the brunt of the work when it comes to carrying our bodies around.
Fortunately, you can address a wide range of foot problems with a very straightforward solution: custom orthotics. These devices get put in your shoes, but they shouldn’t get confused with premade options found in stores or online. Instead, custom orthotics get prescribed by a doctor to treat a specific foot condition — similar to a prescription medication to improve your health.
Our team at Advanced Care Foot and Ankle uses custom orthotics for a variety of reasons, from improving foot and ankle function to correcting foot abnormalities and reducing injury risks. Custom orthotics may look like premade options, but they’re very different.
Unlike mass-produced, premade orthotics designed to fit an “average” foot, custom orthotics are made specifically for your foot.
There are types of orthotics made from different materials, but the process always starts with a mold of your foot. This allows the technician making your orthotic to reproduce an exact replica of the bottom of your foot. Then, based on your doctor’s prescription, the technician can make your insert to the prescribed specifications.
This may seem like an unnecessary and expensive step, but a personalized approach ensures you get the precise correction you need. Choosing a mass-produced product that doesn’t address your specific foot issue may save you money, but it can also cause more harm than good.
Our team uses orthotics to address numerous symptoms that occur in the feet and ankles, as well as in the legs, hips, and back. That’s because your feet set the foundation for your entire musculoskeletal system.
When you have foot deformities or alignment issues in the foot or ankle, it throws off the entire structure of your body, leading to muscle, ligament, tendon, joint, and bone imbalances. That’s when pain, discomfort, and fatigue occur, and it can strike anywhere from your feet all the way to your back.
Fortunately, foot orthotics can help.
To be clear, custom orthotics don’t cure the foot or ankle problem causing your symptoms. Instead, they work to reposition the structures in your feet so they can function properly, which reduces your chances of pain and injury.
Foot conditions orthotics can treat include:
We can also use orthotics to help with back and hip pain as well as underdeveloped leg and foot muscles.
It usually takes two visits to get custom orthotics.
During your first appointment, we evaluate your feet and take three-dimensional scans, discuss your symptoms, and determine the best type of insert for you.
After we receive your custom-made orthotics from the podiatry lab, you return to our office. At this visit, we can make any necessary adjustments to ensure your inserts fit perfectly.
In addition to orthotics, we might recommend additional treatments to ease your symptoms, such as wearing more supportive shoes, performing physical therapy exercises, or taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce inflammation and pain.
Do you have foot pain? Custom orthotics might be able to help. To learn more, book an appointment online or over the phone with Advanced Care Foot and Ankle today. We have offices in Corona and Ontario, California.