U.S Orthotic center Custom orthotics have been used by hundreds of happy clients. They’ve been around for a long time and are made from the highest quality materials.  Many podiatrists have developed a variety of customizations on which to base the design of a particular orthotic.

Orthotics were centered around the “pronation” paradigm, overpronation (inward rolling of the ankle during the running stride) was the root cause of many running injuries.

Orthotics incorporated a built-up arch and a slanted heel that tilted your foot outward.

The built-up material would prevent the foot from pronating, and hence prevent or treat injuries related to overpronation. In the experience of many podiatrists and sports medicine doctors, they were successful.

When runners come to our center injured, U.S orthotic prescribed a custom orthotic, and many recovered. Sometimes it may need adjustments attempted to quantify the degree to which a particular feature say, a slanted heel on a custom orthotic altered a runner’s gait. Experiments were resulting in different results and generally did not agree with the predictions of the pronation theory. Studies of running injuries were not showing a clear connection between pronation and injury.

U. S Orthotic center custom made orthotics to help recovery for injured runners

While a reinforced arch and a slanted heel reduced pronation in some runners, others had little or no change, and some even exhibited increased pronation. Several studies were showing a beneficial effect of custom orthotics.

A 1991 survey of 347 runners who used custom orthotics after suffering an injury found that 75% reported complete or near-complete recovery, and 90% continued to use their inserts after recovery. A more recent investigation in 2011 similarly found that custom orthotics reduced pain and were well-tolerated among most runners. The evidence when it comes to specific injuries is less clear—they might hasten recovery from knee injuries, for example, but the overall recovery rate is similar between runners with knee injuries who receive custom orthotics and those who do not.

If an orthotic encourages this preferred path of motion, the body won’t have to work as hard, and muscle activity will decrease. But if an orthotic (or shoe, for that matter) opposes this preferred path of motion, the body will attempt to overcome it by activating muscles more strongly.