The Magic of Orthotics
• by Dr. Adrian Cohen
Do you have that chronic pain that never seems to go away?
Do you wonder why you seem to hurt more after a long day on your feet?
Orthotics may just be the Magic Pill you are looking for. There are many types of orthotics available today including from your local drug store. But buyer beware, getting your orthotics over the counter could actually make your pain worse. I would strongly recommend that you see a professional and have some orthotics custom designed just for you. Custom orthotics are moulded to fit your feet, taking into account activity levels and body mass perfectly and therefore are really the optimal choice. If you are experiencing pain, a custom orthotic can be created to address your unique concern helping to align the spine and reduce any long term damage.
Things to consider, your feet support and align your entire body, containing 26 bones and 100 muscles. Without proper support in your choice of footwear, you can start to experience daily pain. Taking care of your feet has whole body benefits and typically resolves all types of chronic body pain.
How Foot Orthotics Help Low Back Pain
For many, if not most patients with lower back pain, finding a treatment or a combination of treatments that provide effective pain relief is due to accurate diagnosis and targeted supportive therapy. Foot orthotics can help patients with back pain because they help realign how the feet articulate themselves on the ground, which in turn can affect the body’s entire overall posture and gait.
Foot Orthotics and the Domino Effect
This process can be illustrated in the following manner. In a person with normal foot arches, if one draws an imaginary line down the tibia (shin bone) to the foot, that imaginary line should pass between the person’s big toe and second toe. However, if one draws the same imaginary line on a person with either flat or excessively high foot arches that cause the foot and ankle to pronate, or roll inward, that line would pass through the inside of the big toe instead.
In people with pronated feet and ankles, the bearing of body weight shifts to an abnormal position, which can lead to painful bunions, metatarsals, plantar fascia, among other problems.
Pronated feet and ankles can also cause the knees to turn inward, a condition commonly known as knock-knees. This abnormal placement of the knees then shifts the angle where the thigh bone meets the pelvis, resulting in an unsteady hip posture that also destabilizes the spine. The result is a domino effect that starts at the feet, works its way up the leg and into the pelvis and spine. Walking and standing with the feet, legs, hips, and spine constantly out of alignment can contribute to back pain and future damage to the joints.
The use of foot orthotics that realign the rear of the foot to prevent foot pronation may help stop this domino effect from occurring.
Improving the Kinetic Chain
Foot orthotics can help manage low back pain by improving and stabilizing the position of the feet, which in turn improves every aspect of a person’s gait. The medical term for this phenomenon is the kinetic chain. The feet represent the base of the kinetic chain, and each subsequent joint above the feet can be considered a “link” in the chain—which goes all the way up the trunk of the body to the neck.
During walking, if the feet are pronated, or rolled inwards the rest of the kinetic chain is negatively affected.
Pronated feet cause the knees to come together into a knocked-knee stance, medically known as genu valgus. This also affects the angle of the hip, forcing the femur (thigh bone) to angle inward from the hip, which is medically known as coxa vara. The faulty angulation of the hips and knees then destabilizes the pelvis, which also affects overall posture and the spine.
*Here’s the key: properly designed custom foot orthotics are worth every penny for reasons stated above. The problem is sometimes they are made poorly due to a lack of practitioner education regarding the fine details of orthotic modifications*
I have spent a lot of time learning how to make the best orthotics for you. We also offer unlimited free modifications in the unlikely event that your feet don’t respond the way they should the first time. I started my career (11 years ago) analyzing the biomechanics and gait of track and field athletes, professional athletes, weekend warriors, and anyone with foot dysfunction, so I’m well versed and up-to-date on the subject and ready to help you experience the true benefit of custom orthotics!