Speaking of Orthotics....

Hey everyone!

I posted a while back complaining about my peroneal tendonitis in my right foot, which is healing nicely. I took three full weeks off of running, and am now doing two miles every other day with no pain (besides feeling out of good running shape ;)

I have a podiatrist (friend of the family) that is willing to make orthotics for me at a discount... but. He isn't a sports medicine dr. and isn't that knowledgeable about running/triathlons/cycling, etc. My question is: Are orthotics all the same, or different from different drs.?? Are they different for different activities? (running vs. every day...)??

I definitely think they will help-- Im a flat-footed, pigeon toed pronator, and have gotten by with using Kayano's and Superfeet inserts.

Let me know if you have experience with this, or have any suggestions!!!

Jen

I've only seen one podiatrist, but when he was making my custom orthotics, he was very clear about asking me if I wanted running, cycling, or everyday walking inserts. Since I couldn't afford both (my insurance only covered a portion of the $500 sets) I opted for the carbon fiber cycling ones. He took my shoes and had them customized for my own foot/shoe.

I decided against the running ones until I was 100%. If I decide to pursue it frequently, I'll go for those customs ones later on.

For everyday walking ones, he recommended SuperFeet as a good choice. :)

I would have to say that they are different and I know some places that make them, however I don't agree with how they make them and neither do several of my other PT friends who are quite acitve. One place makes them from an imprint of your foot while you are in a sitting postion. When In this position it does not present/demonstrate the deformity (lack of a better term..sorry) in the foot as most issues are present upon weight bearing activites. I have found a place near where I live and had some made by a pedorthist..he is very knowledgable and trustworthy. He is also highly active. He made imprints of my foot in a standing postion and made adjustments to it in a nonweight bearing position. to accomodate for my issues. Sorry if this is not very clear.

I have a lot of blab on here last few months about my feet. I finally just got my feet casted for orthotics last week by a podiatrists. I'm in PT now also. My ins does not cover the devices themselves. I really hope they help. You are lucky if you can get a discount.

Yes, they can make just about anything, anyway. I did not want, nor have the private funds for what they cost, to have multiple pairs atm. Thus, we tried to go for something that would switch out.

I had heard that too about the standing vs the sitting position. Maybe it depends on the condition too? The ops of a few docs I saw was that "why would you want to cast what was wrong with the foot?:confused:" Meaning... when you are standing. To them, that was defeating the purpose of the orthotics... support (and correction where indicated). Example...

For me, I have a very high arch. Nothing OTC touches it. When I weight bear, my unsupported high arch collapses, moves crazy ways cuz it's not suppoted, etc. "Supposedly" casting me seated will make a form to my foot not in the collapsed problematic position. "Hopefully" to prevent it from doing that when I weight bear... with the use of the orthotic. A specific correction problem my orthotic will include is a metatarsal bump. I have a Morton's neuroma tumor. The met bump helps to relieve pressure for this specific problem... a "correction" issue.

They will come in at the end of the month. I'll have to post about it more then.

I know for people that run (I can't and don't per doc's orders of other medical stuff) I think they can make them with more cushion for the impact of the sport. You could get them made for what you want them for THE MOST. Then, maybe there is a discount for multiple pairs if they can just re-use the same cast?

I know the company that my podiatrists uses gives up to five months for corrections. They save the cast on site for that time period. Thus, if I wanted to have custome made cycling shoes made for my weird non-stock shaped foot, I could have them done from my cast I've already paid for once (like Rocket7 is a company that makes such shoes).

Good Luck! :)

FWIW, my feet are similar to yours in that I have a naturally very high arch but I'm a hugely sloppy overpronator. I'm trying to work on the body mechanics :o but in the meantime I use orthotics in stability shoes.

The ones that work for me are AmFit orthotics, where a pin machine scans your foot in a non-weight bearing position. The ones I've had made either weight bearing or with the orthotist pushing my foot down into the mold, did exactly what you said: cast what was wrong with my foot.

So I hope you'll have good luck with yours.

Yes, they CAN be quite different. One factor is rigidity. You might want a stiff one for walking, but a gel mold one for running. Also where they correct your pronation (in the rearfoot with a wedge at the heel, or at the forefoot with a varus wedge, a wedge behind the ball of the foot at the front of the arch, or with more arch support and more stiffness at the rear arch) will do different things in each activity. A heel wedge won't help your leg alignment on the bike, for example, because you are connected to the pedals with your forefoot. Treating the forefoot for running (a heel-strike sport) may not be sufficient to correct your gait if you need a varus/valgus wedge at the heel.

I think that if you mostly need to have the arch bolstered up that the orthotics will be the most adaptable to all activities, but it might not be perfect. I have custom orthotics for running with a higher arch and a wedge just behind the first metatarsal joint. Varus or valgus wedges in the forefoot (under the metatarsals) hurt, but by lifting just at the front of the arch, I can get aligned properly without traditional wedges. These orthotics work pretty well in my cycling shoes except for fit. (I should note that for knee alignment, I use Specialized shoes which have a varus forefoot wedge built into the sole). Because of that wedge, I use the Specialized high arch inserts. These give me enough support, and their "metatarsal button" helps my feet *almost* as well as my orthotics. My right foot needs a bigger wedge, and so with the Speicalized shoes, my toes still go numb more on that foot. But I make do, because I don't have anyone to make me custom cycling inserts.

If your tendinitis problems are linked to running but you have no problems cycling, then I would go to someone who can make you orthotics for running. Then if you can afford it, get some for cycling, but you may not need them depending on what they have to correct and what shoe you use. You might be able to just tweak your cycling fit by moving your cleats or getting more or less arch support from a basic cycling insert.