Custom Orthotics
Your feet are the foundation of your body’s alignment and posture. A loss of integrity of the arch of the foot, ankle, and foot can lead to imbalances that will not only affect the foot and ankle but will also lead to a loss of structural support and stability in the knees, hips, pelvis, lumbar spine and up to the neck. This will eventually create postural imbalances and misalignments that can create pain, inflammation, and degeneration in multiple different joints.
Common foot misalignments include:
- Overpronation (flat feet) – This is the most common misalignment. This occurs when the arch of the foot collapses and rolls in excessively.
- Supination (high arches) – This occurs when the foot does not absorb shock properly, which increases stress into the knees, hip and lower back.
In an optimally functioning foot, while walking the foot points straight or slightly out, the toes will slightly flare out which helps activate the arch, and the arch will guard against excessive pronation or rolling in of the foot during walking. This allows forces to be transferred up the leg into the knee, hips and back in a non-stressful way.
There are many different causes of foot overpronation, including:
- Loose ligaments causing hypermobility and loss of foot stability
- Leg length discrepancy which can be anatomical (born with) or postural (misalignments)
- Weak foot and ankle muscles
- Weak hip muscles and core muscles
- Injuries to the foot and ankle, especially chronic ankle sprains
- Obesity and excess weight
- Unsupportive and worn-out shoes
- Repetitive high impact sports
- Poor running or walking mechanics
When the foot starts to overpronate it creates a series of events that begin to cause problems.
1. The arch rolls in excessively leading to plantar fasciitis
2. Chronic plantar fasciitis eventually can lead to heel spurs
3. The toes will have increased stress causing bunions, hammer toes and Morton’s neuromas.
4. Excessive stress on the Achilles tendon can lead to Achilles tenonitis.
5. Over time osteoarthritis in the foot joints develops.
6. The overpronation then can lead to internal rotation of the knee causing medial knee osteoarthritis, medial meniscus issues, and stress to the medial collateral ligament and anterior cruciate ligament.
7. The causes tightening of the lateral thigh muscles increasing tension and stress in the hip joint.
8. Uplevelling of the pelvis and increased pelvic flexion then results which increases stress in the lumbar spine, especially at the lumbosacral joint and disc.
9. The body continues compensating through the thoracic spine which can cause upleveling and stress to the shoulder joint and shoulder girdle.
10. The cervical spine also receives more stress and tends to push the head and posture forward.
If you are experiencing chronic pain or want to improve mobility, stability, and athletic performance, custom orthotics may be a good addition to your health regiment. Contact our office to schedule a consultation to see if custom orthotics are right for you!