How Orthotics Can Help Your Foot/Knee/Hip/Back Pain

Foot posture influences the way the rest of our body functions. There are three basic positions in which the foot may function- neutral, (the favoured position) pronation,  (eversion; dorsiflexion and abduction) and supination. (inversion; plantarflexion and adduction)

Over pronated or over supinated foot posture can impose excessive stress on other joints. For example, it has been shown that there is a link between excessive pronation of the foot and medial compartment knee osteoarthritis. (Levinger et al 2013) Orthotics can be used in two different ways- accommodative and functional. Accommodative orthotics are used to provide comfort and relieve symptoms. These are particularly useful for those with diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis. Functional orthotics are prescribed to ‘improve foot and lower limb function, and reduce local, proximal skeletal and soft tissue misalignment.’ (Mooney; 2010)

Functional orthotics

Accommodative orthotics

Orthotics for a Common Foot Disorder- Plantar Fasciitis.                     
Plantar fasciitis has many causes including biomechanics. Incorrect foot posture may impose increased stress on the plantar fascia, and sometimes the tendon is incapable of absorbing these forces. (Young; 2014) Orthotics can relieve the stress on the plantar fascia and allow recovery. 

Orthotics for a Common Knee Disorder- Knee Osteoarthritis.
Poor foot posture can cause pressure on specific areas on the knee joint, which over time may lead to the articular cartilage damage associated with osteoarthritis. Orthotics can be used as a preventative measure for this pathology. However, if the osteoarthritis is symptomatic before the patient attends a podiatry clinic, orthotics can be used to reduce pain from the affected areas.

Orthotics for a Common Hip/ Back Disorder- Pelvic Tilt/ Scoliosis.

90% of the population have some anatomical leg length difference. (Knuston; 2005) found the average difference to be 5.2mm. He also stated that any difference under 15mm rarely requires treatment. If the difference is significant, the body may compensate at several different areas of the body- the spine, the pelvis, the knee or the foot. The compensating area can be diagnosed during gait analysis. When the spine or pelvis compensates, it is likely for back or hip pain to become a problem for the patient. Orthotics can be used to correct the leg length discrepancy and realign posture.

Heel raise to treat leg length discrepency

Orthotics can be used for a variety of people and conditions to provide comfort, prevent pathology or treat pathology. Orthotics can be used as a treatment for people experiencing aches and pains, diabetics, those with musculoskeletal conditions, those who feel unstable on their feet and athletes. Ideally, orthotics would be used to correct alignment and posture to prevent injury. However, more often patients attend clinic once they have an injury. There have been investigations into how effective orthotic therapy is in the treatment of sports injury. One report showed prescribed orthotics relieved pain in 96% of the patients. 70% were able to return to their activity as the same level previous to injury. (Donatelli et al; 88)