How do you know if orthotics will help with foot pain, leg pain, or knee pain?
How can having feet issues (even if we do not have pain there) create pains or problems in other parts of the body?
When we have aches and pains in our body, our body is trying to tell us something.
It’s telling us that something is not right and needs to be altered, shifted, strengthened, lengthened, or more.
What we need to think about is what is happening to set us up from the ground up… meaning our FEET!
Why Our Feet Can Cause Pain In Our Knees, Legs, Hips, And Lower Back
Yes, our feet are so important as we spend a lot of time walking around taking every step throughout our day.
Even if your feet don’t hurt, they can be a major source of pain throughout your body.
As we age, we tend to get more imbalances in our feet, such as one arch dropping lower than the other arch of the foot.
This creates an imbalance that can go all the way up the chain.
Another common occurrence as we age is that feet can flatten and roll inwards, which is called pronation.
This happens as we age in the majority of the population.
When our feet roll inwards, our ankles and knees also twist to accommodate the abnormal foot motion, causing our hips and shoulders to become unlevel.
Even our neck is affected and commonly twisted when our hips and shoulders are unlevel.
Long story short, having imbalances in our feet can wreak havoc on our whole body, not just our feet, and legs.
It can cause aches and pains in many different areas of the body, with quite a ripple effect throughout your body.
It’s hard to fathom… but the back pain that you are feeling right now could very well be caused by your feet.
Our feet are the foundation of the body.
Think about a house that has a crooked foundation with cracks and bumps.
This is not going to be supportive of the house that is standing on top…
Meaning our normal foot mechanics can adversely influence the normal functions of the ankle, knee, hip, back, shoulders and neck.
Untreated, many, many foot conditions can eventually contribute to health concerns up our entire spine.
The foot-spine-body connection is one of the most important and common ones that we see with our patients that walk into mPower Physical Therapy every day. It is critical to have your feet looked at to see how they are affecting anything that is going on with your body.
We help many people address foot and ankle instabilities that can improve with skilled physical therapy treatment.
But there are also times when our feet, our foundation, need some extra support to make sure that our spine is fully supported with walking, running, playing sports, and more.
As our feet change and our arches collapse with aging, orthotics can play a great role in our whole body health to support our foundation (our feet).
Will Orthotics Help With My Foot Pain, Leg Pain And Knee Pain?
Orthotics influence all the moving parts of your body.
Orthotics slip into your shoes and they actually influence all of the moving parts in your body.
Your entire body can move with greater ease and harmony when your feet are properly stabilized and improve your ability to live an active life without pain in these 5 ways:
1 . Our custom orthotics make a huge impact on our posture.
Remember if one arch is lower than the other arch, this creates an imbalance in your posture.
And walking or running repeatedly with an imbalance will cause problems up the chain.
Runners favor foot orthotics because when you wear them, they positively influence the way that the body moves.
So custom orthotics for flat feet, or high arches can make a huge difference without really any effort on your part.
2. Our custom orthotics evenly distributes your body weight
Foot Orthotics are frequently used to treat common foot conditions such as plantar fasciitis and can relieve discomfort from other joints in the body like ankles, knees, hips, and lower back pain.
An even distribution of body weight means that you will not feel aches and pain in other areas at the end of a long day such as your back or hips. Wouldn’t that be amazing at the end of a long day in standing for your joints to not ache?! We have clients that rave about our orthotics because their body feels better at the end of the day!
3. Our custom orthotics can help you move faster and more easily
Orthotics are a great way to alleviate discomfort in the feet, knees, hips, and lower back. Without pain bogging you down, you can get to the root cause with physical therapy so that you are able to move faster and with greater ease.
Why do you need your orthotics to be customized to your foot?
In our clinic, we provide custom orthotics – not the ones you can buy off the shelf at the store – and this means that they are tailored to exactly what your body needs.
So if you’ve tried off-the-shelf orthotics before, these are completely different and the results of our patients are proof of this.
Custom orthotics are designed for each person’s unique foot to provide optimal support and comfort.
An interesting fact is that we have three arches in our feet, each one needing special support.
Someone who is flat-footed in one arch, may not be in another, so a custom orthotic provides specific support which helps keep us on our feet every day standing without aching in pain.
Not all custom orthotics are the same.
You want to make sure your custom orthotic is not super firm. Our foot has a lot of joints, and it is meant to move!
If you are in a firm orthotic it keeps your foot rigid and that does not help.
As I said, our foot was meant to move so a ridged orthotic can create more problems than help. Having a flexible orthotic but one that also addresses the 3 arches will give you the best results.
We have had many clients try other orthotics that do not work, but when using our custom orthotics, they get relief!
4. Orthotics protect your body from future injuries
Wearing orthotics helps prevent your body from future injuries for several of the reasons mentioned above like evenly distributing your body weight, but also by supporting the various areas of your feet.
Orthotics can help relieve and prevent common foot issues such as plantar fasciitis, heel spurs, and bursitis, as well as protect you from injuries like twisted ankles, back strains, and unnecessary hip and knee pain.
5. Foot Orthotics support the foundation of your body
The feet are the foundation of the body and set you up from the ground up. Therefore, it’s essential to ensure the foundation remains in top condition.
As we age and our lifestyle choices change, our feet can also change.
We can get arthritis, our arches can collapse, and our posture can change. Custom orthotics are designed to support your foundation to help the feet, as well as the rest of the body, operate efficiently and without pain and discomfort.
Fixing The Body
The idea behind custom orthotics is to address pain throughout the entire body, not just our feet. By ‘stabilizing’ the feet, the orthotics actually help eliminate the causes behind pains throughout the entire body but also help us stay strong.
Have you tried our strength test with and without our orthotics?? Yes, come and try it in our office. You will notice your arm strength will be weaker if we do not place an orthotic under your foot. When we put (not even a custom
orthotic) a sample orthotic under your foot and test your strength you will be stronger.
This does not happen when we use an over-the-counter orthotic!
Our foot Orthotics takes the entire body into account and understand that we need to
set ourselves up from the ground up.
We don’t walk sitting down
Our foot scans take a different approach to foot position by scanning our feet in standing, which makes sense because when we are walking, we are upright.
It is common for orthotics to be made from a cast in sitting or lying down, but then you do not get the translation of the actual forces that go through our joints and body when we are standing. If you are going to use your orthotic for standing, then we want to make sure that our feet are scanned in standing.
100% money-back guarantee
What an amazing part of these orthotics is that if they don’t work, you can return them at NO cost to you after a 45-day break-in period!!
There are many different types of orthotics because we wear many different shoes in our wardrobes each week. Dress shoes, tennis shoes, running shoes, boots, flip-flops, and more!
We have them ALL!
It’s amazing to find a line of orthotics where you can find your foot and your foundation support for ANY shoe in your closet.
Flip-flops are one of our best sellers during the summer! They are a staple in my wardrobe all summer long. Who does not love sporty, stylish, light, cool, quick, and easy-to-take-on and off flip-flops?!
Flip Flops are typically made of thin, cheap materials and feature a flat sole with NO arch support and absolutely NO shock absorption.
Flip-flops provide little to no stability for the foot and ankle joints. They can cause stress on the knees, hips, lower back, and other joints, which can increase your risk for injuries and painful conditions.
Want to learn more about our Custom Orthotic Flip-Flops?
Good news – you can keep your feet supported and aligned without giving up this footwear favorite. Ask the physical therapists at mPower Physical Therapy about Custom Flip-Flops!
So what are you waiting for?
Come by mPower Physical Therapy to get your feet scanned and learn about your entire posture, not just your foot position in standing. We will provide you with recommendations of the best orthotics for your favorite shoes!
Your feet, your foundation, and all the rest of your body deserve to have the BEST support from the ground up to make sure that you enjoy every step of the way!
Looking forward to seeing you and your feet soon Call or Text us “free foot assessment” at 214-538-3559 for more information or to learn how you can get a FREE foot Assessment if you live in the Dallas Fort Worth area!
If you would like to speak to one of our specialists to discover more about what you might be doing wrong, why you are not getting better, the source of your foot or any other kind of pain, and to get all your questions answered, then you want to arrange a FREE Discovery Visit.
Do not delay in arranging your FREE Discovery Visit as we have limited spots each week for these appointments.
More Expert Advice To Keep You Enjoying A Pain-Free, Active Life
Check out our mPower Physical Therapy YouTube Channel for more great education and information. Make sure you subscribe, so you can be up to date with all our new videos that come out!
Listen to one of our Podcasts such as One thing that Healthcare Providers MISS that Keeps you in Pain!
Or read one of our Blogs such as Do I Have Knee Arthritis And What Should I Do About It?
