Health

Orthotics: What Are They and Are They the Solution to Your Foot Problems?

Are you experiencing persistent foot pain? Do you think a shoe insert can help? It might. Depending on what the problem is, you may need orthotics instead.

What Are Orthotics?

Orthotics are special shoe inserts prescribed by doctors that are used to treat multiple foot, leg, or back problems. But don’t get confused with inserts that you can buy from stores without a doctor’s prescription, from the one with prescriptions. While they can provide cushioning and support, they are not designed to correct foot problems. 

Orthotics prescribed by physicians, like the custom-made foot orthotics by Feet In Motion, are different. They are medical devices that you wear inside your shoes to improve biomechanical foot problems, including issues with how you walk, run, or stand. They can also help with several foot pains due to medical conditions like diabetes, arthritis, plantar fasciitis, and bursitis. It can even help you avoid flat feet surgery.

For individuals who don’t need these prescription medical devices, an over-the-counter shoe insert may work just fine. The right person who can advise you about this is a podiatrist – a medical professional specializing in foot care. If you’re looking for reliable and experienced podiatry in Mississauga, you may want to check out Feet In Motion. They can accommodate weekend and evening appointments to suit your busy schedules. They also provide orthotic shoes in Mississauga & Hamilton if you’re on the hunt for functional and fashionable orthotics.

What Medical Conditions Do Orthotics Treat?

Your doctor can prescribe orthotics if you have any of the following medical conditions:

  • Arthritis
  • Bunions
  • Back pain
  • Bursitis
  • Diabetes
  • Flat feet
  • Heel spurs
  • Hammertoes
  • Injuries
  • High arches
  • Plantar fasciitis

How Can Orthotics Help You?

Our bodies are an interdependent system, so when one part is not functioning correctly, it can negatively impact the other parts leading to overuse.

Orthotics are often a part of a treatment regimen for many ankle and foot problems. For instance, a doctor can prescribe orthotics in addition to other treatments, such as physical therapy exercises and more supportive shoes. A physician can also recommend taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), like Ibuprofen and naproxen sodium, to lessen pain and inflammation.

1. Orthotics Influence All Moving Parts of Your Body

Orthotics are more than just an insert to your shoes. They influence all of the moving parts of your body. Have you noticed that when your feet are properly stabilized, the rest of your body moves with greater ease and harmony? It can help correct posture and movement problems, too. For example, if you often slump or lean to one side more than the other, orthotics can help fix this.

Athletes, like runners, love to wear orthotics because they can positively influence the way their entire body moves.

2. Orthotics Evenly Distribute Your Body Weight

Custom orthotics are frequently used to treat plantar fasciitis and ease other joint discomforts like knees, hips, ankles, and lower back pain since they can evenly distribute body weight. If you spend a lot of time on your feet, wearing these can make a long period on your feet manageable for your whole body. Thus, pain in other areas of your body, like your hips and back is removed, after a long day.

3. Orthotics Can Help You Move More Quickly and Easily

You can alleviate discomforts in your knees, feet, hips, and lower back with orthotics. And when the pain is gone, you can move faster with greater ease. That’s why orthotics are customized to ensure optimal support and comfort since everyone’s foot is unique. People with lifestyles that require them to spend a lot of time standing, such as police officers and teachers, can wear custom orthotics to help them stay on their feet with ease.

4. Orthotics Can Protect Your Body from Future Injuries

Orthotics can protect you from future injuries for many reasons, like the ones mentioned above, such as evenly distributing your weight. They also support the different parts of your feet. Moreover, they can protect you from twisted ankles, unnecessary hip and knee pain, and back strains.