Funky foot facts

  • By 12, a child’s foot is about 90 per cent of its adult length.
  • Cigarette smoking is the biggest cause of Peripheral Vascular Disease. PVD often leads to pain on walking, ulceration, infection and in severe cases - gangrene and possible amputation.
  • Foot disorders in the elderly are extremely common and are the cause of much pain and disability, and consequent loss of mobility and independence.
  • Around 40 per cent of Kiwis will experience some form of foot problems in their lifetime.
  • The first foot coverings were probably animal skins, which Stone Age peoples in northern Europe and Asia tied around their ankles in cold weather.
  • In a pair of feet there are 250,000 sweat glands that produces approximately 500ml of perspiration daily.
  • It’s rare that two feet are exactly the same; one of them is often larger than the other.
  • When walking, your heel lifts off the ground and it forces the toes to carry one half of your body weight.
  • A quarter of all the body’s bones are in the feet (There are 52 bones in a pair of feet).
  • The average child will take its first steps around 13-17 months - but 10-18 months falls within the “normal” range.
  • A quarter of all the body’s bones are in the feet. (There are 52 bones in a pair of feet).
  • The average person will walk around 128,000kms in a life time or 3 times around the earth.
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Orthotic Therapy and Sports Medicine

Foot Orthoses; Uses, Types, Manufacture, and Costs

Foot orthoses (corrective insoles) are a form of treatment used by podiatrists for people with foot, ankle and lower leg injuries or complaints. Orthoses aim to correct things like leg length differences, flat feet, or to help joints function more smoothly helping in the management of pain associated with arthritis.

Listed below are examples of complaints that can be helped by orthoses.

Prescription, Manufacture and Fitting of Orthoses

There are three stages to producing your casted foot orthotic.

Prescription and casting

get-an-orthotic-prescription

Writing a prescription for your orthoses follows an examination of your gait, stance and in chair movements. This is what we send to the lab, which is then used with the cast to make your orthotic.

Manufacture

orthotic-pouring-cast-for-shoes

how to get an orthotic cast for shoes

 Your cast is poured by hand

 

 

and then modified and reshaped by the foot orthotist  to achieve the correction requested by the podiatrist.

get shoe insoles made to fit your feet

orthotic insole shaped to your foot

 

Plastic is then heated

 

 

and moulded

Sports shoe insoles made to fit

 

Then shell is then shaped to its near final form

 

 

Fitting

Fitted Insoles for sport shoes

The insole is then fitted to your foot.

Casted orthoses vs Temporary, Over-the-counter (OTC) orthoses

What is best for me?

Not all people require prescription casted foot orthoses. They are for some, an expensive modality. However, for many people they are life changing devices, much like having prescription glasses made where improvements to your reading is measurably better. Using orthoses can make exercise enjoyable again, and prolong your ability to function at the level you desire.

I have a simple rule when prescribing orthoses which helps guide patients.

Chronic condition=Casted orthotic

Acute condition = OTC (over the counter) device

If you have a chronic (long term) issue, then you are better having casted orthoses. They last longer, hold their shape longer, and will provide you with long term improvements. The shell of a casted orthotic should last anywhere between 5-10 years.

Acute conditions are likely to be just as easily treated using a modified OTC device. The acute condition often has a natural life span which needs short term assistance to speed recovery. These devices are more cost effective, and are probably just as effective in managing acute conditions, as casted orthoses.