3 Things You Didn’t Know About Custom Made Orthotics

Custom Orthotics Benefit Your Whole Leg

It’s hard to say how many people wear custom orthotics. The market for insoles and orthotics in the US alone is measured in the billions. Custom orthotics provide a number of basic services for modern urban human foot..

-custom orthotics provide tailored arch support for the foot

-custom orthotics provide positional control of the calcaneus (heel bone).

-custom orthotics provide space and support for the metatarsal bones.

-custom orthotics and provide  shock absorption to the entire foot.

–custom orthotics provide ‘biofeedback’ for the nerve centres in the arch of the foot

The additional benefits that come with all these forms of support refer up the leg. By providing these many forms of support to the bones of the foot using custom orthotics, benefits are inferred on the other joints in the lower half of the body. When the arch is supported the knee doesn’t collapse during weight bearing and the hip doesn’t internally rotate in a way that is unnatural for the body. Shock absorption for the foot courtesy of custom orthotics means reduces shock & stress in the knee, hip and the delicate joints of the lower back.

The human foot.. it all starts off so well. And then surfaces like concrete and tarmac take their toll.

The tangible benefits that people report as a result of all this custom orthotic induced support and shock proofing include positive changes for those struggling with …

• Meniscus Pain

• Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome

• Ankle Pain

• Plantar Fasciitis

• Heel Spur Pain

• Recurring Ankle Sprains

• Arch Pain

• Shin Splints

• Groin Pain

• Acetabular Pain

• Glutes Not Firing Chronically

• Tight Hip Flexors

• Severs Disease

• Osgood Schlatters Disease

• Pubic Symphysis Pain

• Sciatic Pain

• Lower Back Pain

• Piriformis Syndrome

• Iliopsoas problems

• Iliotibial Band Syndrome

• Hip Pain

• Knee Pain

Custom orthotics can impact alignment issues throughout the entire leg.

Tissues that generate stubborn pain are tissues that are suffering from persistent strain. Knee pain, hip pain, ankle pain, foot pain and plantar fasciitis for example  are to a large extent repetitive strain injuries caused by a lack of support in the foot. The reasons we need support for our feet will become apparent in this post. Here are 3 things you possibly didn’t know about custom orthotics.

Custom Orthotics Last A LONG Time

Custom made orthotics are an extremely durable product in most instances. Custom orthotics are without doubt one of the least disposable devices available in healthcare today. When you are made of super hard plastics and you have no moving parts it’s pretty easy to fulfill your warranty promises and obligations. The instance of custom made orthotics breaking is incredibly low to the point where it is like waiting for a doormat or a chopping board to break.

This is great news for you the consumer. If you can get your hands on a product that is designed well enough that it provides your body with the support it needs and that’s product also lasts a relative  eternity you have found a good product indeed !

Most of the people I prescribe custom orthotics to find that they last an absolute minimum of 5 years. The only maintenance cost within that time is the occasional small bill for recovering. Typically within 3 years it starts to look and feel like a recover is in order for most custom made orthotics. At that point a spend of around $70 has you feeling like you own a brand new pair.

Custom Orthotics Is More Natural Than No Custom Orthotics

Your direct ancestors walked mostly on soft ground like grasslands, forests, earthen and sandy regions. You walk on hard flat ground like concrete, paving and tarmac. If you reflect for a moment on your human footprint ( on the beach say)  it is fairly obvious that there is an arch support built in to it. As your ancestors ran and walked they left footprints much of the time and every time they did so they received the benefit of a nice soft arch support made of mud, sand or vegetation. Not you though, you live in town and you wear fashionable footwear. This means your joints and soft tissues get an absolute pounding.

If you are living on a soft, flexible shifting and changing terrain full of natural obstacle the amount of muscle activity in your hips, core and legs is many many times what it is if you just cruise around town. Mother Nature gave your ancestors a workout like no other, we are adapted to rely on that constant stimulation to maintain muscle mass in our hips and lower back. You don’t get this workout because you live and move on hard flat terrain almost all the time.

The bottom line is orthotics hug the foot and provide shock absorption in a way that the foot recognised as being far more like natural terrain than it doesn the combination of bare feet of Converse Chuck Taylor’s & Concrete. Don’t let any barefoot shoe wearing urban vegans tell you any different. Concrete is not natural and that’s what the barefoot spirit largely embraces.

Custom Made Orthotics Can be a Cheaper  in the Long Term

A sensible quality generic insole to let’s say help you with your plantar fasciitis, with enough support to not be a complete joke might run you somewhere between 50-100 dollars. It will help but it won’t reduce your healthcare bills anything like as well as a custom orthotics do bearing in mind always  that a single visit to a sports chiropractor, a physiotherapist or an osteopath on average costs $60. After a year your generic insole will have have lost structural integrity. . A single pair of custom orthotics is less than $700 usually and they have been known to last 10 years with full structural integrity. I am not good at maths but I suspect for many the custom option stacks up quite well financially.

Closing Thoughts

So there we have 3 surprising facts about custom orthotics you perhaps weren’t aware of. It’s all well and good understanding and owning custom orthotics.. the real trick if you need them is to wear them. Consistently wearing your custom orthotics is really the secret to success.