If you have been prescribed Total Correction Orthotics you’ll  know that they have been customised to your individual prescription. Over the next few weeks your feet will need to adjust to the new, correct position.

The following information will assist you through the wearing -in period

• At first, when you start to wear your orthotics they may be uncomfortable.  This is to be expected.  As time passes they will become more and more comfortable. It is important that the following instructions are followed closely:

• Do not be surprised if you find a little discomfort in the legs, or even in the back during the early stages of wearing the orthotics.  Your muscles will be getting used to new positions

• Do not insert the orthotics into shoes which are badly worn or broken down.

• We recommend a gradual increase in the time you wear-in your orthotics. We suggest you begin on the first day for one hour.  Each day increase the wearing time by 1 hour until they can be tolerated all day long. Eg.: Day 1-1 hour; day 2 – 2 hours; day 3 – 3 hours etc.

• If shoe fitting problems should occur, try shoes with a deeper / stronger heel counter, fit heel grips, or contact us immediately for possible orthotic adjustment.

• Remove existing insoles or premoulded padding from footwear, where appropriate.

• Often, stretching and strengthening exercises will be prescribed by your podiatrist for use in conjunction with your orthotics.  As the effectiveness of your orthotics, and consequent treatment of your problem, may depend on these exercises, it is important to perform them strictly in accordance with your exercise program.

• Do not use the orthotics for sport for the first 2 weeks and then only if they are comfortable to walk in.  Then build up slowly towards running or playing sport until you get used to them.  This is because sport places greater stress upon your feet, legs and back.

Your orthotics will initially be issued to you with a temporary cover.  This is to allow adjustments which may be needed in the early stages to be done more easily. You may have your orthotics permanently covered at a later stage, usually at the 4 week review consultation.

Care of your orthotics

• Regularly clean gravel & sand from your shoes before putting in orthotics.

• Your orthotics may be cleaned with a damp cloth or brushed clean.

• Please don’t let your dog near your orthotics or he may think it’s a bone!

We recommend that your progress be reviewed in approximately 4 weeks.  By this time you should expect to have been wearing your orthotics all day, and for two weeks for all your sporting activities.

However, if you have any difficulties during this “wearing-in” period please contact us immediately 03 5223 1531

WARNING : This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional podiatric advice. Treatment will vary between individuals depending upon your diagnosis and presenting complaint. An accurate diagnosis can only be made following personal consultation with a Podiatrist.

 1. Assessment of your feet

A biomechanical assessment is used to gather information that makes up  your individual design criteria of the orthotic prescription.  From this presciption, the orthotics will be designed using  a CAD, (computer aided design) program.  The assessment is roughly 50 – 60 minutes long.  The patients are requested to bring shorts for the biomechanical assessment in order for the podiatrist to have a clear view of their legs and feet.

The biomechanical analysis utilises the most up to date diagnostic equipment available.  In the biomechanical analysis we aim to collect as much information as possible on how you walk and run and how your feet and legs function.

We also assess your primary or genetic structure  for the ‘misalignments’ we all have, such as knock-knees, bowed lower legs, etc.  We assess these features , both non-weight bearing and weight bearing,  using evidence based examination techinques that have been show to be predictive  in function.  We are interested in analysing  how these relationships are compensated  and how that impacts on the functioning of the feet.

2. Video Gait Analysis and Plantar Pressure  Evaluation

Through this we gain an understanding of what is happening and when it happens.  With our plantar pressure mat we can see where you place the pressure on your feet, the amount of pressure you place and the timings of how you place that pressure.  This is why we have a plate which allows analysis of multiple steps, rather that one single step, resulting in an accurate diagnosis.

3. Imaging of your feet

A two dimensional scan of the foot is helpful in showing specific  features with the foot being in a weight bearing position.  These features may include:

• an ulceration,
• boney promenance,
• callus and corn formation

We can also use it to note the position where a correction needs to be placed on the orthotic to aid function or to off load a high pressure area.

A three dimensional scan of the foot.

In the past the actual dimensions of  your foot, ( the shape or profile of the underneath of your foot including the arch), was captured using a plaster cast. We use new technology that captures your foot digitially in a method which the software can generate a 3d model.  The advance of this, apart from the lack of mess, is that we can see the model of your foot immediately and capture another if the foot model is not exactly how we want it.  Once we are happy with the model, it is imported into the CAD software as an important component to the orthotic design process.

  WARNING : This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional podiatric advice. Treatment will vary between individuals depending upon your diagnosis and presenting complaint. An accurate diagnosis can only be made following personal consultation with a Podiatrist.

After your assessment, the podiatrist will discuss which orthotic options will be best for you:

• Total Correction

  • With normal biomechanical assessment
  • With Fscan inshoe assessment

As it’s name suggests this orthotic type aims at restoring your foot’s function back to as close to normal as possible. The design features are to encourage your body weight to move through the foot so it is in the right place at the right time so forces are normalised through the structures that are designed to take them. In doing so the joints and muscles and tendons are aligned to work optimally.

These orthotics can be made from a large range of materials, depending on the required use, shoe type, the level of correction you require and your body’s requirements.

Often you may be given exercises, have mobilisation of the joints of your feet and ankles or referred for soft tissue therapy, so to ensure the muscles and the joints are able to adapt to the correction and will work with the orthotic not against it; these ancillary treatments also make getting used to the correction during the ‘wearing-in’ period a whole lot easier!

• Total Support

  • With normal biomechanical assessment
  • With Fscan in-shoe assessment

This type of orthotic is designed for people who have changes in their foot structure that can lead to the development of pressure areas and inflammation. This could occur from:

• Arthritis; causing joint stiffness and deformity
• Diabetic pressure areas; increasing the risk of potential ulceration
• Previous injury: permanently altering the foot structure

These orthotics are designed to redistribute the weight effectively off the pressure areas, ensuring that the areas the weight will be transferred to are able to cope with the increased stress. They are made from materials that absorb shock to protect the tissues and make walking much less uncomfortable.

• Total Comfort

This new range of orthotics is designed for the relief of aching and tired feet. These orthotics are made to the pressure profile of your feet when either walking or standing. These are not corrective orthotics, nor are they designed for people who have significant structural changes in their feet. They are primarily designed for the large number of people who don’t have a painful condition, but can’t wait to get their shoes off at the end on the day as their feet ache.

Many people tell me how they love wearing their Birkenstocks, crocs (or similar designed sandal) or runners because of the support and cushioning material. This is because the foot was never designed to stand or walk on hard flat surfaces, especially for prolonged periods of time. Our foot is designed to adapt to the ground, a great feature when we had to walk over undulating pasture, sandy beaches or rough ground. But now we stand and walk in shoes with no support over hard flat surfaces, it’s no wonder it places a lot of strain on the arch!

Our Total Comfort orthotics provide you with that support, but are designed to your individual pressure profile and are made of material that’s soft and supportive, much like your shoes are.  We are able to design and make these orthotics using new technology and as they are not corrective, they can be made within 2-3 days and are VERY cost effective; especially if you have appropriate private health insurance, where the cost after rebate will be less than $100.

WARNING : This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional podiatric advice. Treatment will vary between individuals depending upon your diagnosis and presenting complaint. An accurate diagnosis can only be made following personal consultation with a Podiatrist.  

Do I need orthotics? What kind? What’s the difference between pre-made and custom made and what exactly do they do? You have probably heard of someone who wears orthotics in their shoes or perhaps you have orthotics.

There are so many types of orthotics available; it is hard to know which you need. Some people buy orthotics from retail stores, some through various health professionals and others from podiatrists.

Some people get better, some don’t. There are some, which make all sorts of claims. What does the research actually say about how orthotics work? Most importantly how can you be informed on these issues? We can help!

Almost everyone has some structural biomechanical misalignment such as bowing of the lower legs, knock knees or legs that turn in or out.

• Our bodies compensate for misalignments through the mobility in our joints and the flexibility and strength found in our muscles. Over time, this causes other adaptations and changes to occur to allow normal function.

• These changes and other factors such as footwear, work, sports, age, weight and overall health status place stress on our musculoskeletal system.

• When our body lacks sufficient compensation for a given activity, we place high forces through our body, which can lead to inflammation and pain.

• This is when we need to find out if improving your body’s ability to compensate, by improving the muscle and function and/or reducing the abnormal forces usually by orthotics and/or footwear, is the best option.

But my pain just happened and is not going away…

Plantar faciitis

Any current pain may be just the most recent effect of an ongoing condition that has slowly been occurring over many years. Other such effects, such as muscle tightness and/ or weakness, or perhaps restriction of the movement in some of your joints, may be present, but as they haven’t directly caused you pain, you may not have noticed them.

It may have been an event, such a holiday with a large amount of walking, a growth phase (where the person’s bones grow quicker that their muscles) or even just wearing a pair of new shoes, which pushes the body’s ability to compensate beyond it’s limit and injury and inflammation occurs, causing the pain you feel.

At this point your body has two issues to deal with; first it has to continue compensating your structure and changes to allow you to still walk around, play sport, etc… The second issue is to offload the injured tissues so they can heal. Often this is too much and the pain continues.

To resolve this situation we have to either reduce the Compensation required or increase the Compensation Available.  Simple treatment of the symptoms can prove very effective in the short term, but if the biomechanical and structural irregularities and the resultant compensatory changes are not addressed, then a repeat of the inflammation and pain will most likely occur at a future date when another event occurs.

Please note:  this advice is very general and an accurate diagnosis on the function of your legs and feet can only be made after consulting a podiatrist.