Foot pain impacts how you walk, run, and perform your daily routine. At Foot and Ankle Wellness Center at Seven Bridges in Woodridge, IL, Dr. Leonard Vekkos uses customized orthotics--or shoe inserts--to provide much-needed relief.
What are orthotics?
Orthotics, or orthoses, are custom-designed, crafted, and fitted shoe inserts. Often as simple as a heel cup or arch support, orthotics protect the compromised diabetic foot or correct the gait of an avid runner. Patients who benefit most from orthotics have long-standing, or chronic, podiatric health problems related to congenital or acquired deformity, professional athletic training, or diabetes.
Those orthotics which support and protect the feet are called accommodative orthotics. Those which provide a biomechanical balance of the hard and soft tissues of the foot are called functional orthotics. Your podiatric diagnosis, as determined through examination and gait analysis by Dr. Vekkos in Woodbridge, IL, dictates the use and the kind of orthotics.
Materials used for orthotics
Your podiatrist uses precision measurements and plaster casts of your feet to craft your orthotics. Rigid orthotics stabilize the movement of the complex joints in your feet. Typical materials are carbon fiber or plastic. Semi-rigid orthotics may alternate soft and hard materials to provide support and control gait problems such as toeing-in. Soft orthotics usually incorporate foam to provide important cushioning and support.
Other information you should know
The Pedorthic Association of Canada says that customized orthotics are designed to last indefinitely. However, wearability depends on your shoes, your diagnosis, and how you live your life. Dr. Vekkos will check your orthotics periodically for wear, and you should replace them as needed.
Conditions that benefit from orthotics include:
- Plantar fasciitis, inflammation of the connective tissue which crosses the foot between the heel and the toes
- Bunions, bony bumps located at the side of the foot
- Hammertoes
- Fallen arches
- Diabetes (wounds and ulcers)
- Bursitis in the heels and toes
Come in for a consultation
At Foot & Ankle Wellness Center at Seven Bridges in Woodbridge, IL, we offer a long list of podiatric services to keep your foot and ankles functional and free of pain. Dr. Leonard Vekkos will use the treatment modalities just right for your podiatric health. Contact us for a consultation at (630) 852-8522.