Evaluating orthotic device quality & effectiveness

While the use of orthotics helps innumerable foot patients each year from unbearable pain as well as preventing recurrence of numerous related foot disorders, there is also a segment for whom orthotics did not serve their desired purpose.

More often than not it is a case of a defective orthotic device-or a piece that was not ideally suited to a particular patient's foot, rather than the failure of orthotics in general. Podiatrists therefore face the challenge of assessing the quality of orthotic devices they recommend to their patients and ensuring that what they offer is indeed the 'best fit' for their patient.

Among the many important things to consider is the make up of the orthotic. For example, qualified and experienced podiatrists will be able to evaluate the shape of the orthotic plate vis-à-vis aspects of the foot and decide if it is properly made or not. Sometimes, while the device may be made correctly in terms of shape, the kind of load the patient puts on his/her feet with routine activities will also need to be considered in the evaluation of the orthotic.

According to an article by Arnold Ross, published in Podiatry Today which goes into considerable and useful detail on the technicalities of how podiatrists should assess orthotic quality, the key things to look at include strength of the orthotic, the contour of the device and balance ie. "the orthotics must have the correct amount of correction or tilt based upon your foot measurements".

For patients who have already used orthotics, albeit unsuccessfully, podiatrists will need to make a final judgment on the likely efficacy of an orthotic device based on the patient's specific foot problem or foot care needs, or if some other means of foot treatment would be required.

The benefit of orthotics is that if these are prescribed with a complete understanding of a patient's foot care needs, and the patient takes care to use them in the most appropriate manner these have been proven to be extremely effective. Not only do they provide considerable relief from foot pain, but custom orthotic devices could be the much needed panacea for a host of seemingly unrelated (for the layman, at least) ailments such as back pain, hip pain, knee pain etc.

Of course, one may not need to go for custom orthotics always --- an off-the-shelf orthotic, such as the one from Walkfit will be more than effective in most cases. Not only are these inexpensive-the Walkfit orthotic shoe insoles are available for less than $20-but they are also easy to use, with absolutely no limiting effect on your daily routine.

Try out Walkfit orthotic devices from Phase 4, which are proven to be extremely effective in providing relief from a host of foot problems including heel spurs, arch pain, sore feet etc