What is an Orthotic?

Introduction

If you have had foot, knee, or back pain in your life, you have probably wondered what possible solutions there are. While surgery and physical therapy are options, one of the minimally invasive, but nonetheless helpful tools is the orthotic. An orthotic is a medical device that is placed inside the shoes to provide helpful support and corrections to issues of the gait that cause misalignment and ultimately pain throughout the body. Even if your pain isn’t on the level of considering surgery, orthotics are a great first line of defense you should consider.

Let’s dive into defining what orthotics are, and then help you make a decision about if orthotics are right for you...

Defining Orthotics

Orthotics are medical devices which improve the function and mechanics of your body in motion. They do so by offering arch support, preventing over pronation, even engaging the toes, among others. Additionally, orthotics offset pressure from areas throughout the foot which may be causing pain. 

Orthotics versus Insoles: Differences

There is often confusion between the terms orthotics and insoles. Online, the two words are generally interchangeable, although from a medical standpoint there are key differences:

Insoles are usually sold over the counter at drug stores, and don’t focus on ‘correcting’ issues you might have, but rather ‘accommodate’ them and just aim to increase comfort in the shoe. Insoles are often heavily cushioned and don’t have much of an arch or heel cup. If you are someone with minor feet discomfort, an insole might be best for you. 

On the other hand, an orthotic is a medical device sold to ‘correct’ issues in the gait. For example, if you have a leg length discrepancy, you would turn to an orthotic which might be taller in one foot versus another. 

Additionally, orthotics are not limited to the ones just placed in your shoes. They can be entire brace systems that connect your feet to your knees, and even hips. These are often known as ankle foot orthotics or AFO braces and often quite expensive and used for my serious conditions like drop foot or even cerebral palsy.                

Conditions Treated with Orthotics

Orthotics are great at treating a wide variety of lower extremity conditions. At it’s price point, it’s a common first line of defence offered by a medical professional when facing the following:

• Plantar Fasciitis: Alleviates heel pain by offsetting pressure on the plantar fascia band.
• Flat Feet: Supports the foot by artificially giving the foot an arch. The foot’s arch acts like a shock absorber, and without it you can experience immense foot pain.
• High Arches: Those with high arches put all their weight on the heel and ball of the foot. Orthotics help by more evenly redistributing the weight.  

Sports and Orthotics

When playing sports, you put tremendous strain on your muscles, tendons and ligaments. Orthotics are thus essential tools for athletes, used by everyone from LeBron James to David Bechkam. Looks look at why athletes wear orthotics

Improve Biomechanics

Orthotics align the feet/body, making your gate pattern normalized. They correct overpronation, which is where your foot roles inwards. Similarly, orthotics can prevent underpronation, where the foot rolls outwards. With different levels or pronation/underpronation, you are likely to get shin splints or experience knee pain. 

Absorbing Energy

With sports like basketball or tennis, you experience repetitive strain on hard ground. Orthotics have cushioning material that distributes the load across the foot. Additional arch support also acts like a cushioning spring, increasing propulsion as you complete the gait. 

Enhanced Performance

When your body is in alignment there is less energy getting expelled during movement. As such, many athletes turn to orthotics as a way to increase performance. For example, recent studies show that orthotics directly increase the distance of a golfer by an additional 15 yards 

Injury Prevention

With additional stability, orthotics can help prevent injury. Young athletes often turn to orthotics as a way to prevent future injuries from occurring

How Orthotics Work

Orthotics correct the underlying biomechanical issues you might be facing throughout your body. These issues can lead to pain as your body tries to overcompensate itself, further throwing the body out of alignment. 

Additionally, orthotics work by redistributing pressure on certain areas. For example, if you have plantar fasciitis, you might get a custom orthotic which has a cut out in that area to prevent additional strain. This is where the expertise of the medical professional comes into play as they ask the right questions to fully understand what solution is needed. Additionally, custom orthotics are essential in this case as they can pinpoint where in the foot to re-destribute the pressure.