Orthotics as preventative care

Many people know that orthotics are a great tool to help treat many foot pathologies such as heel spurs, plantar fasciitis and painful flat feet as well as alleviate pressure from painful bony prominences or callouses.What most people don’t know is that the use of orthotics can help prevent orthopedic deformities from occurring or significantly slow down their progression.Many foot pathologies such as bunions have a high degree of hereditary influences.But just because your parents had bunions or hammertoes doesn’t mean that you are doomed to the same painful foot problems. While your foot type and how they function may be hereditary, intervention to prevent such problems from developing can be a reality. A good functional orthotic when made properly, can address most underlying weaknesses and imbalances of the feet that would normally lead to orthopedic deformities. By addressing these weaknesses and imbalances, the destructive forces that would normally be at work when you walk can be eliminated or decreased so that even if the deformities do occur, they would occur later in life and the deformities would be of less severity. By properly supporting your joints there will be less stretching of your ligaments as the years go by thereby improving joint alignment and decreasing wear and tear on your cartilage which can lead to arthritis.