Custom-Made Orthotics
WHY YOU MAY NEED ORTHOTIC SUPPORT
As you walk your heel swings from side to side very slightly, like the pendulum on a clock. If, however, your heel swings too far when you walk or run, your foot may be overpronating, or flattening too much. This incorrect movement stresses and weakens parts of your foot. Over time, you may develop symptoms in your feet ranging from a change in shape to pain when you walk. |
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Custom-made orthotics are medical devices that support and gently reposition the heel, arch, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and bones in the feet, enabling these structures to work together as nature intended, to make each step you take pain-free. Unlike shoe inserts bought over the counter, custom-made orthotics are built from molds of your feet to meet your unique needs. They’re typically made with comfortable thermoplastic materials, which are guaranteed to last for years, and can be designed to fit in dress shoes, athletic shoes, boots, and skates.
Custom-made orthotics can relieve many different types of foot pain including heel pain and plantar fasciitis; arch pain; pain caused by running, walking, and other athletics; pain related to diabetes; pain experienced by senior citizens; and many other kinds of foot pain related to bunions, trauma, sprains, and other disorders.
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WITH ORTHOTICS |
During midstance, the ankle and heel are misaligned, and your foot has no arch. |
At heel contact, orthoses limit the swing of your heel so your heel strikes the ground correctly. During midstance, your orthoses support your foot so it can regain its arch, allowing the ankle and heel to align. |
WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM USING CUSTOM-MADE ORTHOTICS?
Heel pain sufferers
Heel spurs and plantar fasciitis (inflammation of the ligament on the bottom of the foot which attaches to the heel and maintains our arch) are the most common causes of heel pain. These problems usually occur in pronated feet (feet that roll inward, breaking down the inner sides of shoes). Pronation forces the heel to strike the ground abnormally, and places abnormal stress on the heel and plantar fascia which causes pain that will become progressively worse. Your pain may occur only when first standing, and then disappear; it may occur at irregular intervals; or it may be constant. In any case, be assured, it will become worse without custom-made orthotics. The custom-made orthotic is constructed to: allow the heel to strike the ground in the correct manner by eliminating pronation; cushion the heel; and support the arch. Custom-made orthotics are the first and most successful line of treatment podiatrists use for these problems.
Arch pain sufferers
The usual causes of arch pain are: flat feet; very high arches; prolonged standing, walking, and running; injury; and the natural aging process. By gently supporting the arch and accommodating for existing problems, custom-made orthotics accomplish three things:
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The pain disappears.
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The arch will drop no further, thus preventing further foot problems from developing.
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The effects of aging on the feet are slowed, preventing other problems such as arthritic foot pain and fatigue due to walking, as well as preventing bunions and hammer toes from becoming worse.
Pain caused by running, walking, and other athletics
It is no coincidence that many professional athletes use custom-made orthotics. Custom-made orthotics keep the foot in its most efficient alignment, allowing the bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments to work at 100% efficiency. They also protect the heel, arch, and forefoot from the unnatural and increased stress that prolonged running and sports activity produce. Whether it is to prevent problems, relieve pain, or increase efficiency, all runners and other athletes will benefit from custom-made orthotics.
Pain related to Diabetes
Due to a thinning of the protective fatty pad on the bottom of the foot, circulatory problems, and decreased feeling (neuropathy), diabetics encounter more severe foot problems than non-diabetics. Pressure sores, chronic painful areas, and ulcers are best treated with supportive custom-made orthotics featuring modern materials that can eliminate pain, shield and protect painful areas, and decrease the chance of ulcerations occurring. Podiatrists and diabetic specialists use custom-made orthotics to help reduce the increasing number of lower extremity amputations which occur each year by preventing simple problems from becoming more serious.
Pain experienced by senior citizens
The aging process affects the feet and ankles just as it affects every other part of the body. The muscles, tendons, and ligaments become loose and weaker; bones lose calcium reducing their strength; and the fatty pads on the bottoms of our feet, which protect and cushion the bones, become thinner and can nearly disappear. Custom-made orthotics will gently support the bones of the feet; special materials used can mimic the foot’s natural fatty pad and eliminate the pain of protruding bones and bone spurs. Custom-made orthotics will also support the arch and keep it from falling, thus preventing other problems and pains. And they can keep the foot from turning and twisting while walking, making each step secure and pain-free.
How do we custom fit your orthotics?
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Having custom orthotics made for you has never been so simple. To help you take the first step toward pain relief, we will send you a special foam impression kit. Our kit includes easy instructions and allows you to take impressions of both your feet quickly and cleanly. Also included is a self-mailing carton to return your impressions to us. |
Simply place your feet in the impression material and hold still for approximately 10 seconds. Then complete the self-examination form. A board certified podiatrist will personally review each and every kit and examination form returned to us. Within days, custom-made orthotics — which will relieve your unique foot problems — will be made for you under the supervision of our foot doctor and rushed to you via Priority Mail.
Why choose OurHealthNetwork for your custom-made orthotics?
Every pair of orthotics, sports orthotics and sandals we sell is custom-designed by our Board Certified Podiatrists and hand-crafted by a team of experienced lab technicians.
Your orthotics will be custom-made for you — for your feet, to care for the pain and underlying disorder from which you suffer. We begin by sending you a foam impression kit that you’ll use to make molds of your feet. Based on your molds and the information you’ll supply on a comprehensive self-examination form — as well as more than 30 years of experience we have designing custom-made orthotics — our Board Certified Podiatrists will custom-design a pair of orthotics for you.
OurHealthNetwork offers a wide variety of different custom-made orthotics and sports orthotics for different activities, depending upon your particular needs. Every pair of orthotics and sports orthotics is made using the highest quality materials and standards. Without the added overhead of an office visit (which is the bulk of a podiatrist’s charge), we are able to sell our orthotics for less than half that which you’d pay in a doctor’s office — the exact same custom-made orthotics your local doctor will provide for $300 to $600.
We promise you that you will be completely satisfied with your custom-made orthotics, just as are thousands of others in every U.S. state and more than 30 other countries around the world. We invite you to click here to read just a few of the responses we’ve received from thousands of satisfied OurHealthNetwork.com customers. We hope to have an opportunity to serve you soon!