If you watch any type of commercials, you will notice one going around about “custom orthotics”. They are bought at the big box companies and they have a foot scanner, to match you with your “custom” fit. I absolutely love the idea! The problem I have is, they are NOT custom. How they can use the word custom and have only a handful of different products to choose from drives me bonkers!

Go to your closet, pull out any pair of shoes and check the foot support. You will be hard pressed to find a shoe with actual arch support. Most shoes are completely flat. (Not to mention you have 3 arches in your foot, not just 1….!!) Orthotics are becoming more popular due to the fact that shoes are being made more cheap every year.

Athletes

The most common musculoskeletal injuries in the athlete involve the lower extremity, with the most prevalent being an ankle sprain. Followed closely by a knee sprain and then hip sprain or strain. Acute injuries are going to happen, they are injuries that happen at the game or practice. Chronic injuries are those that happen time and time again.

In order to prevent chronic injuries whether in the athlete or anyone else, you need to start first with the foot. Our feet are our foundation. They are what causes us to stand up right. The structure of the foot can either cause imbalances in the legs, hips, spine and head, or they can help with reinforcing good posture and prevention of any injuries.

Feet

One of the most common problems with the foot is pronation. Pronation is where the arch starts to collapse, cause the foot to fall medially or “in”. When a foot falls into pronation the ankle become tilted “out”, for stabilization, which puts pressure on the inside of the knee. Try standing up and rolling your foot inward. Do you feel the pressure on your ankles and knees?

Most often people don’t even know that their arches are failing them. It happens slowly over time, changing the structure of the foot, ankle, knee, and hips. Most often one foot will “go first” and cause you to have two different bases. This is when you can start getting an imbalance in hip height, develop scoliosis, get one shoulder higher than the other, have your head tilted to one side (this is due to the body wanting to keep the eyes level, so everything below will bend and change to keep the eyes level.)

Plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendinitis, shin splints, knee pain, hip pain, back pain… They can be stemming from bad feet. When you put the foot back into proper alignment, with adjusting, orthotics and strengthening exercises, you can correct issues that are arising from failing feet.

Orthotics

The orthotics I use in my office are from FootLevelers. They are a tad more expensive than other brands on the market chiropractors use, but for good reason. The founder of FootLevelers patented the technology to use all 3 arches of the foot in his product. Other brands are only allowed to use a combination of 2 of the 3 arches in the foot. I would rather spend a couple more dollars and get full foot support.

At the office we have a mold that you step in to reveal the architecture of your foot. We fill out a form with any pains you are experiencing in your knees, ankles, hips, shoulders, shoe size and the like. Then we send it off and they cast the mold for your foot. An actual “Custom” orthotic. For a couple hundred dollars you can start preventing problems that can arise in the future, as well as, changing the pain patterns you may currently have. When you divide that up with the fact you are using them daily, moving them from shoe to shoe, it’s pennies a day. I’ve currently had my pair of orthotics for over 5 years and am just now about to reorder.

Chiropractic

If you have any questions on how you can get orthotics, if you think it could help you, give us or a chiropractor that offers orthotics in their office a call. A foot examination and gait assessment will help reveal issues that can lead to other spine issues.

People with high arches should also consider getting orthotics due to the lack of support shoes are offering. Over time the arch will breakdown. This is due to being confined to a shoe and not allowing the foot to move the way that it should move. (Barefoot running ring a bell?) This is why I don’t ever recommend babies being put in shoes while learning to walk. Let the ligaments and muscles develop properly without the aid of support from a shoe.

~Dr. Lacey~
Carder Chiropractic Clinic, INC.
El Reno, OK 73036