Foot orthotics

Video Transcript

Question: What should I bring to my appointment? 

So when you come in for your foot orthotic fitting, you're going to want to bring in the shoes that you wear the most frequent. 

Question: Why is this important?

It's important that we have the correct shoes to trim the foot orthotic into. The foot orthotic and the shoe really work together as a unit to help to control your foot and ankle complex. So, if we're able to fit the foot orthotic into the shoe that you're going to use most often, then we are able to optimize the result.

Question: Will my foot orthotics fit into different shoes?

The foot orthotic does move around relatively well between shoes of a similar size and shape. But, if you are having a lot of problems right off the bat, I generally recommend pick one shoe to wear with your new orthotic until you can get your symptoms to calm down. And then, if you want to be able to transfer your orthotic between shoes after that, then we can kind of make adjustments as we need to.

Question: Why do my foot orthotics look larger when I first come in? 

So when you come in for your fitting, the foot orthotics, we leave them quite large. They're extra long and extra wide to start with. So that whatever type of shoe you bring
in, we are able to taper them down and get them to fit properly within the structure of that shoe.

While you're sitting here in the room, we've got one of our technicians hard at work trimming down the orthotic to fit into the shoe that you've brought in with you today. So that like I said, we can - we can really maximize the fit of the orthotic within the shoe. So we can make sure that those two pieces are working properly together.

Question: What type of shoes do I need for my foot orthotics?

I mean, there's not necessarily a right shoe and a wrong shoe for a foot orthotic. Depending on what symptoms you have and kind of what your day to day life looks like,
we do try to work with you to be able to fit your orthotic into your existing footwear. Some people do find if you have particularly narrow or low volume shoes, you may have to size up a half size just to accommodate the extra volume of the orthotic in your shoe.

If you're looking to select new footwear to work with your orthotic, there's certainly a few criteria to look at as far as what makes a better or a worse shoe. Um and our good friends over at Shoe Solutions, are excellent at, you know, helping patients to decide on the shoe that works best for them depending on their condition. But just kind of as a general rule, when we're looking at selecting a good shoe, I'd like to focus on a couple of things at the heel in particular. If we can control your heel as it hits the ground through your stride, we're able to better direct the biomechanics of your foot and your ankle throughout the remainder of your stride.

So if you're looking to buy a new pair of shoes, two things I would suggest focusing on is finding a shoe that has a little bit of structure and a little bit of firmness at the heel. Two things in particular. If we look at the heel material, if you give that a squish with your fingers, if you can compress that heel cushion more than about an eighth of an inch with your fingers, it’s probably a little bit on the soft side. Soft shoes might feel really great when you're in the store because you know that cushion feels really good when you first step down onto it. But throughout your day, if every step you take that foot collapses and that heel collapses down into that cushion. You know, it's just kind of throwing you into those bio-mechanical problems that caused your foot pain or your foot problems in the first place. So, choosing a shoe that's a little bit stiffer through that heel cushion can be very advantageous.

Along with that if we're looking at the heel counter, which is this piece of material just above the heel cushion, if that has a little bit of rigidity and a little bit of structure to it, much like the firmer sole we're able to better control that heel as it hits the ground and direct your movement through your stride, the way that we want to.

Question: How do my foot orthotics help me? 

What we're trying to do with the orthotic is support the arch of your foot at its natural height and support that heel and direct that bio-mechanical motion kind of through your stride. So those two pieces work really well together. So making sure you have a good shoe to put your new orthotic into is definitely advantageous for you.

Question: What should I expect when I first get my foot orthotics?

When you first get your orthotic, although it's made out of a semi rigid material so it has a little bit of give to it, it can take a bit of time to get used to that feeling in your shoe, especially if you haven't worn an arch support previously. So I hear a lot of patients describe it as having a golf ball in their shoe for the first couple of days. You know that support can be a little bit foreign, a little bit unusual. So it definitely takes a bit of time to work into it.

So generally I recommend just wear your new orthotic for an hour or two to start with. Give your feet a chance to get used to having that there and then, either take it out and replace it with the factory foot bed or change your shoes entirely. Then you can increase the wear time on your new orthotic by about an hour or two each day until you’re comfortable wearing it all day long.

Generally, I recommend take about a week or so to work up to that full day wear. If you were to jump in the day after you got your orthotics, with eight hours on your feet, without taking them out, you can expect to feel a little bit sore in the places that you initially feel support. So just kind of things to be mindful of as you start to work into that new support.

Generally we recommend giving it about two weeks to break it in, see how you're doing. If at that two week mark, you're not seeing any improvement in symptoms, if you're not getting used to that support, if it's causing you any pain or any issues at all, we do want you to come in for a follow up.

The orthotics that we make here are really, really adjustable, which is very advantageous, especially for our first time orthotic users. If you're not getting accustomed to it, if it's causing any trouble, there's loads of adjustments we can make to the the orthotic support to improve your comfort. Um you know, further decrease your symptoms and just make sure that you're really comfortable and happy with that support.

The first three months of those adjustments are all included in the base price of the orthotics. You don't have to worry about paying out of pocket for any adjustments for that first 90 days. After that first 90 days, there will be a patient fee of $25 per adjustment. So we generally recommend, you know, if you - if you're working into your orthotics, if you're having troubles or if you feel like you're going to be having troubles, please come in within that first three months so that we can get you set and sorted and happy with your arch support before that warranty period ends.

If at any point, you get a new pair of shoes and you're feeling like that orthotic isn't fitting quite right, please feel free to give us a call and we can kind of assess the fit of the orthotic within the shoe and make sure that in your new shoes it's still working optimally for you.