When you recommend orthoses to a patient, you probably already have a long-term treatment plan in mind. However, without a clear explanation, those patients may assume the orthoses will remove pain immediately or be the only treatment they need. Even if that isn’t your intention, vague or overly confident language can create expectations the recovery […]
Prescribing orthotics is an important step, but it is rarely the end of a patient’s recovery path. It can be the point at which a more considered return-to-activity process begins. As a clinician, that means the conversation shouldn’t stop at fitting or dispensing an orthotic. Setting expectations clearly from the outset helps patients understand what […]
If you spend a good portion of your week answering questions from patients about the right foot support, you may have explained the difference between custom orthotics and off-the-shelf insoles more times than you can count. Not only is it a common question from our patients, it’s a clinical care topic we revisit often during […]
Learning to focus on load, not just foot position As a podiatrist, you work with patients on foot, ankle, knee, or running-related pain day in, and day out. How often have you had a patient walk in, looking for a second opinion, just to start off by telling you they have a history of overpronation? […]
What are orthotics? Foot orthotics are clinician-prescribed devices that change the way load travels through the lower limb during movement. Custom or bespoke orthotics are built to a patient’s specific diagnosis and loading pattern, rather than to a generic template. This article covers what the evidence shows about how orthotics produce their effects, why the […]
The dominant clinical model for much of the last forty years described foot orthotics as alignment correction devices, or tools for repositioning a foot that had deviated from a neutral position. Yet, the evidence does not support that explanation. This blog post covers how foot orthotics work, what they cannot do, and what that means […]
