What are foot
orthotics and insoles and what can they
do?
Foot orthotics are insoles that fit inside a shoe and are
designed to either prevent foot pain, leg pain, knee pain, shin
pain caused by mechanical issues in the foot or
leg.
The foot orthotics do this by either correcting foot alignment
issues, foot deformities caused by injury, arthritis or
neurological conditions which then compromise the foot from
functioning normally. Alternatively, foot orthotics instead of
correcting a problem can accommodate foot problems if they cannot
be corrected.
I have never had orthotics, will they help?
Orthotics helps a large number of patients and part of etsablishing whether they can help is the quality of the biomechanical assessment for your orthotics. Often patients come to us in our glasgow and Hamilton and say that they have tried orthotics previously with limited success.
Orthotic therapy is the same as any other medical intervention inthat it has to be appropriate to the individual patient's problem.
As such the wrong orthotic prescription will always have limited success.
The key to the success of any insoles or orthotics is the quality of your assessment and the quality of the orthotic manufacturer. This is why our orthotics are finished by the orthotic clinician on-site in our orthotic labs in our orthotics Glasgow and orthotics Hamilton clinics.
It is also why we provide unlimited return visits for reviews and adjustments in our Glasgow and Hamilton clinic until you are happy. When we surveyed our patients 95% of them reported an improvemt in their condition since being provided with their orthotics. No one can guarantee success and if they do be sceptical about their claims, but it is likely with the correct assessment and orthotics you will feel a benefit. It is also possible that exercises and stretches will be recommended to supplement your orthotic prescription.
What is Orthotic footwear and what can it do for you?
Orthotic footwear is footwear customised to you and designed to work specifically with your orthotics. Often patients who have foot positonal issues such as flat feet, bunions or hammer toes have difficulty finding suitable footwear.
Alongside our specialist foot orthotics and insoles service we also provide a custom footwear service for these patients and work closely with our patients to provide footwear that not only works with you and is customised exactly for you, but also is pleasing to the eye and designed by retail high street maunfacturers.
This means we can prove "Orthopaedic" footwear that doesn't look ugly and instead helps address your issues without our patients feeling abnormal
The Treatment Hub team in Hamilton and Glasgow can provide the full range of orthotics and insoles from simple insoles to offload pain in various parts of the foot to the fitting of custom made orthotics or insoles for complex problems. We do this within our single dedicated orthotics and biomechanics clinics in Hamilton and Glasgow.
Some
examples of the problems treated are shown below
Plantar fasciitis or heel pain (for more info on this click here)
Shin Splints (for more info on this
click
here)
Metatarsalgia (for more info
click
here)
over pronation or flat feet ( for more info
click
here)
under pronation or "cavus" feet (for more info
click
here)
If you
don't know what exactly is the cause of your issues
don't worry as we will undertake a full biomechanical assessment
to diagnose the root cause of your problems. We
provide a free biomechanical assessment
for all new patients at our orthotics and biomechanics clinics in
Glasgow and Hamilton .
We will give you advice on how we may be able to help you.
Alternatively we can refer you to another member of our team
if orthotics or insoles aren't the only possible treatment for
you.
See below for an explanation of the different types of Orthotics & insoles Manufactured by our orthotics team of specialists in Hamilton and Glasgow
1. Heel cups:- To hold the foot securely in
one position and prevent moderate to severe over
pronation (sometimes called flat feet) or to protect the
foot from painful movements in arthritis or other painful foot
conditions.
The heel cup orthosis is usually made from plastic and provides a
firm arch support structure to hold the foot. They can however
be lined with cushioning material to provide shock absorption for
walking or running.
It is an extremely effect arch support type insole as the high
sided design holds the foot onto the support and prevents it
from losing control.
2. Total contact insoles, or TCI's:- Designed to
spread
pressure across the foot and prevent high pressure points in the
foot). This particular type of foot orthotic/insole is usually made
from EVA foam with different densities to allow it to provide
either support, relief or cushioning
of the foot. It can also be used as an arch support type insole to
control pronation, and is particularly useful for under pronators,
supinated or "cavus" high arch feet to introduce additional
cushioning to this type of foot.
This foot orthotic insole is often used for the use in a
variety of sport shoes as the different density foams can be
tailored to a specific sport or activity. Most
commonly
this can be used for football, road running, trail running, tennis,
golf, walking and hill walking.
3. Functional foot orthotics (or orthoses):-
Designed to
improve the function of the foot during walking or running, without
restricting the normal movements of the foot.
This is probably the most versatile of the different
types
of foot orthotics or orthoses as the control, design and type of
materials used can vary greatly depending on the nature of the
mechanical issues, symptoms or activity demands on the
foot.
They are generally designed to allow the foot to function as it should normally but without it being too restrictive or uncomfortable towear in various shoes from running footwear to ladies slim fitting footwear.
@colinmccourt Yes see you tomorrow at 9am
12th May @ 20:55
@colinmccourt @mhairi_hendry Or 9am tomorrow?
12th May @ 06:06
