Foot Orthoses

Foot orthoses are custom designed and fabricated to address a wide variety of conditions such as plantar fasciitis, stress fractures, shin splint syndrome, metatarsalgia, Achilles tendinitis, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and many other foot conditions. The main goal of foot orthoses are to control excessive motions during the gait cycle when a client is walking.

Foot orthoses are usually classified as either accommodative or functional.

Accommodative orthoses are typically prescribed to clients who require more cushioning and impact absorption to relieve pressure from areas of the foot that are experiencing discomfort and pain.

Functional orthoses are prescribed to clients to assist in controlling abnormal foot mechanics and/or abnormal gait dynamics.

Foot orthoses to treat common foot problems

Plantar fasciitis or heel spurs is one of the most common foot problems. Typically an individual will experience heel pain in the morning when they first step out of bed or when they are standing for extended periods of time. This is due to chronic inflammation of the plantar fascia where it connects to the calcaneus (heel bone).

The typical cause of this is excessive or abnormal pronation which stretches the plantar fascia with each and every step. A custom foot orthosis works to control the pronation and eliminate the repeated stretching of the arch of the foot thus enabling the fascia to heal.