Foot pain - Should I use an orthotic?

Foot pain is complex and shoving an orthotic in your shoe may be helpful, but it doesn’t give any information as to what is causing the foot pain. Sometimes an orthotic makes an individuals foot pain worse and even will start to cause pain in other areas like the knee.

The foot consists of 26 bones, 33 joints, 107 ligaments and 19 muscles. I’m guessing that surprised you and you shouldn’t be surprised when sticking an orthotic in your shoe doesn’t make a difference for your foot pain. The reality of it is, there are lot of moving parts in a small area which is absorbing your bodyweight.

When we think of the foot, structure and function is important to consider. If we see a flat foot (no arch) or a high arch, in either case it doesn’t mean we should put an orthotic in to support it. We can’t make that decision without a thorough evaluation process to assess structure and function specific to the individual in front of us. The more data points we can collect, the better we can start to make sense of what is driving the pain.

It’s also important to consider the function of the:

-Ankle

-Knee

-Hip

-Lumbopelvic (hip/lower back) region

Altered movement and function at those areas could be putting undue stress on the foot.

We can start to ‘paint a picture’ of what is going on and develop an initial treatment plan by assessing local (foot) and global (foot and other body regions together) regions performing:

-Static vs.dynamic movements

-Stability assessments

-Mobility assessments

-Strength assessments

Most clinics skip these steps and most importantly don’t listen to a patient’s story to truly understand what is going on and start to address chronic foot pain to help them get back to the activities they enjoy.

In the end, it depends if you need an orthotic, but let’s first perform a thorough evaluation to understand the ‘why’.

If you’ve tried everything and are looking for a long-term solution to help you get back on your feet, set up a free discovery call below to talk with a Doctor of Physical Therapy!