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How do orthotics work?
To fully appreciate how an Orthotic works, it is necessary to understand how the foot functions during normal walking activity.
During each step, 4 times the body’s weight is forced through the lower limb and through the feet as the body propels itself forward. Each step consists of the following three phases:
1) HEEL STRIKE –
The vertical axis of the heel is designed to land perpendicular to the ground, with a minimal incline of a few degrees to the outside of the heel. This is the beginning of our natural ‘braking’ mechanism and the ‘heel strike’ is the first slowing-up of momentum, with the ‘fatty heel pad’ acting as a natural shock absorber.
2) MID STANCE –
The weight felt through the heel as it meets the ground is then transferred progressively along the outside of the foot. As the little toe (or ‘fifth met head’) starts to meet the ground too, the arch begins to flatten-out. The body’s weight is then progressively distributed towards the inside of the foot as the heel beginning to lift off the ground again. This ‘Mid-Stance’ phase happens extremely quickly and sometimes it is the speed of this phase that can create the resulting dysfunctions.
3) TOE OFF –
As the heel lifts, the weight is shifted to the ball of the big toe. The propulsion generated from the two previous phases pushes the foot forwards into the ‘Toe-Off’ action, which completes the walking cycle.
What orthotics do and why more and more people wear them
If the main function of the foot (to act as a ‘shock absorber’ as the weight shifts between each step) begins to break down through a flattening of the arch, excessive ‘pronation’ or when the foot becomes ‘high-arched, the foot absorbs shock poorly. This ultimately results in the body’s weight falling on either the heels or the toes and thus causes many disorders such as; toes, heel, knees and back pain etc.
Orthotics (custom-made footbeds) correct this by ensuring the foot is cradled in the correct position to function properly. This, in turn, corrects posture and gait and can relieve pains in the knees, hips and lower back. By ensuring that pressure is distributed evenly across and throughout both feet, circulation also improves and excessive pressure on particular areas of the foot can be relieved. Prescriptive orthotics are designed by a Podiatrist to correct particular conditions in the foot; for example, once an individual has undergone full biomechanical link to pop-up and gait analysis, the Podiatrist might design footbeds which are built-up or reduced in certain key areas.
Because perfect feet are extremely rare (and because day-to-day stresses will ultimately deform them). most adults will benefit from a custom-made foot beds, be they non prescriptive or prescriptive devices.
©April 2005 Feet First (Europe) Limited - Webmaster