Orthotics: How Do They Help with Foot Problems?
Are you currently experiencing chronic foot pain? If you’re wondering if a shoe insert can help, it could. However, depending on what the issue is, you might need orthotics instead.
What Are Orthotics?
Orthotics are special shoe inserts prescribed by physicians that are utilized to deal with numerous foot, leg, or back issues. But don’t get confused with inserts that you can purchase from stores without a physician’s prescription, from the ones with prescriptions. While they can provide support and cushioning, they are not designed to correct foot problems.
Orthotics prescribed by physicians are different. They are medical instruments that you wear inside your shoes to help ease biomechanical foot problems, including how you walk, run, or stand. They can also help with several foot pains as a result of medical conditions like arthritis, diabetes, plantar fasciitis, and bursitis. It may even help you avoid flat foot surgery.
For people who don’t need these prescription medical instruments, an over-the-counter shoe insert may do the job. The ideal person who can recommend this is a podiatrist – a medical practitioner specializing in foot care. If you’re looking for a recommended foot clinic in Hamilton, check out Feet In Motion. They can accommodate weekend and evening appointments to suit your busy schedules.
What Medical Conditions Do Orthotics Treat?
Your physician can prescribe orthotics if you’ve got 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?
Our bodies are an interdependent system. Thus when one part is not functioning properly, it can negatively affect the other parts leading to overuse. So why should you use orthotic shoes?
Orthotics are frequently a part of a treatment program for many foot and ankle issues. For example, a physician can prescribe orthotics in addition to other feet treatments, like physical therapy exercises and more supportive shoes. A physician can also give you nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), like Ibuprofen and naproxen sodium, to minimize pain and inflammation.
1. Orthotics Influence All Moving Parts of Your Body
Orthotics are more than simply an insert to your shoes. They affect each of the moving parts of your body. Have you noticed that if your feet are properly stabilized, the rest of your body moves with greater ease and harmony? It can also help correct posture and movement problems. For instance, if you often slump or lean to one side over the other, orthotics will help fix this.
Athletes, like runners, like to wear orthotics since they can positively influence the way their whole body moves.
2. Orthotics Evenly Distribute Body Weight
Custom-made orthotics are frequently used to treat plantar fasciitis and ease other joint distress like hips, knees, ankles, and lower back pain because they can evenly distribute body weight. In addition, if you spend a lot of time on your feet, wearing them can make an extended period on your feet manageable for your whole body. Therefore, pain in other body areas, like your back and hips, 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 is why orthotics are customized to ensure optimal support and comfort since everybody’s foot is unique. For example, individuals with lifestyles that require them to spend a lot of time standing, like 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 potential injuries for many reasons, like the ones mentioned above, such as evenly distributing your weight. They also support different parts of your feet. Furthermore, they can protect you from twisted ankles, unnecessary hip and knee pain, and back strains.