Orthotics – Helpful Aid or Unnecessary Hindrance?
If you have been told you need orthotics you were probably given at least one or more of the following reasons why;
- You have flat feet
- You must wear supportive shoes as a preventative measure
- You have aches and pains in other parts of your body that have gone undiagnosed and is down to your age
If you have answered yes to one or all of them then we implore you to continue reading this post to understand why said orthotics will do nothing but harm you in the long term.
The orthotics industry unfortunately is like pretty much any other in healthcare these days. It is focused on treating or rather managing your symptoms instead of pinpointing the root cause for your symptoms.
You are conditioned to believe that your foot, knee and hip pain is due to a lack of ‘support’, and that your arches are weak, shallow or not properly ‘maintained’. You are therefore encouraged and coaxed into thinking you should insert arch supports. These orthotic products promise to help decrease your pain whilst improving comfort through features like; heel cups, cushioning, padding, etc. However, these products are merely ‘masking over’ the real problem and to a large extent are likely to contribute to the cause rather than help fix it.
You might have seen ads for back and shoulder braces and how they are becoming a phenomenon of late for postural correction. Yet there remains scepticism in the medical field that this can lead to muscles in the low back to weaken over time due to passive rather than active use. This can lead to stiffness, heaviness or a dull ache as maintaining this for long periods is not natural. With this understanding do our feet really need arch ‘support’ where we artificially raise them up with orthotic inserts?
Another common misunderstanding in our more modern age is to start wearing shoes as early as infanthood. This is especially problematic at such a young age as infants’ feet grow and mature. The wearing of footwear has become more commonplace still only relatively recently.
Going through the historical record we find that footwear was worn sparingly throughout the ages, and usually by the rich and/or military, often in the guise of minimalist sandals. That said we can safely say shoes are still a relatively new phenomenon and therefore the effects of wearing them, particularly during infancy and childhood, is not yet fully understood. With this in mind we should not be so quick to adopt the wearing of or using devices on our feet that will artificially manipulate their shape and/or function. Your first shoes are your feet, and if you take care of them, they will last you a lifetime.
An integral function of the body is movement. It forms a crucial part of our human life especially as bipeds. Each foot-ground interaction we make sends sensory feedback to the brain to take the next step, evenly distribute weight, balance and remain stable (by no means exhaustive). But, we find that most modern shoes are pretty rigid, restrictive in places and most definitely do not follow the shape of our feet, restricting important sensory feedback resulting in poor movement.
What is interesting is a research study conducted by podiatrists and published in ‘The Foot’ journal in 2007 showed that those wearing shoes in infancy were more likely to develop foot or posture related abnormalities compared with those that wore shoes later in their lives. Furthermore, the study found that shoes can restrict the natural motion and interaction bare feet have if the toes are not sprawled out but are squashed together.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/09/barefoot-best-for-children
Pronation is a common biomechanical problem that occurs in people where the foot or feet are flat and frequently occurs when walking. A person’s arch collapses and causes uneven distribution of the bodies weight, which can cause stress or inflammation to the plantar fascia. This is a fibrous tissue that runs along the bottom of your foot connecting your heel bone to your toes. If you have ever experienced pain in the foot this could be one cause that leads to mid to severe discomfort and other foot problems.
Our client came to us after being treated by chiropractors, chiropodists and other healthcare professionals with no relief. This client informed us that after running many tests including computer aided technology she was diagnosed with pronated feet, and would need to wear orthotics for the rest of her life to prevent knee and hip pain.
Our method of Advanced BioStructural Correction™ works on the premise that the body works as a single synchronous functioning unit, you cannot treat an area of the body on its own, it has to work together and at the same time without affecting somewhere else in the body.
Though the healthcare practitioner was correct that this can cause issues in the knee and hips but it may also affect higher up in the lower back also. The biomechanical changes are a result of the increased arch in the shoe notwithstanding the added constriction, cushioned heel and many other features resulting in misalignment and pain.
When clients come to our pain and mobility clinic we work closely with them and guide them through making the appropriate changes to prevent any future injuries previously sustained prior to Advanced Biostrucutural Correction™ care. As such removing the orthotics and going barefoot has helped tremendously wherein the client does not complain about hip pain anymore!
When clients go barefoot, the impact this has on sensory feedback from the foot is exponential. The nervous system serves to function better, as it is able to adapt to the variables when walking on different surfaces. This improves the control of motor function and balance. Another important change that happens in the stimulation of nerves endings in the foot, increased circulatory flow, better alignment and increased muscular strength. Discarding constrictive shoes has never been more satisfying!
Another example; this time of an active woman who would actually run 5 miles very often and placed health as a high priority. She would often complain of foot pain and carry different shoes in her bag depending on how her feet or legs felt at any particular time. This is not surprising as many women resort to this Given the myriad of terrible shoes marketed to women in particular. Upon inspection of her shoes her arches were high and heels overly cushioned!
As a result at any given time when the body is not working to its full capacity it will have an effect on body alignment and can cause pain somewhere in the body. In other words when footwear is not constrictive and spacious, sensory feedback increases to the brain which also increases feedback in the ankles, knees, legs and hips.
It’s important that a degree of movement can cause this effect, so any time spent barefoot is better than none. For some any type of shoe is not an option if they want to move pain free and mobile.
If you have worn orthotics for a long time the first thing to do is remove the orthotics and train your feet, as your feet are and will be the best functioning shoes you can ever own.
Let us get to the root cause of your ailment(s). We offer a FREE consultation including a demo of the ‘First Rib Manoeuver’ before you decide on proceeding with any treatment. You will feel the difference to your pain and movement right from the off.