Facebook Live Thursday 13th June 2019
In podiatry orthotics are a traditional method of treatment. There is a a lot of debate in recent years about how orthotics work and what they do to reduce our patients heel pain. However at the end of the day approximately 70-90% of orthotics are helping to reduce heel pain. We will explain to you the “old, traditional” method and understanding of how they are helping
One of the most common causes of plantar heel pain is plantar fasciitis/ plantar fasciosis. The plantar fascia is a ligament on the bottom of the foot that start at the heel and goes along all the way to the ball of the foot. If we think about it side on it is an elastic band. Every time we take a step it stretches out. If you think if we pull and elastic band out too far it gets lots of little tears in it, this is the same stretching as what is happening to the plantar fascia.
The orthotics are custom made to each patients feet and designed to reduce the stretch of the ligament from occurring and redistributing pressure. We have experimented with different materials in the clinic and have found that in our patients with plantar heel pain a softer orthotic has been getting better results
Inserts from the chemist and off the shelf devices from shoe stores may help you a little bit. They may reduce some of the stretch however, generally there will still be some movement occurring as the arch height and position may not be correct for your foot.
If you have any questions don’t hessite to give us a call!