Adjusting Orthotics, help please...

[Miranda]

For those of you that have custome made orthotics...


Did you have to get them adjusted from the original fit?... and how did they do it?

Melt the plastic on site? Send it back to the orthotics maker and re-do it? What? Mine came with the clause that they could be adjusted for up to 5mos post making them. I had to wait 3wks to get them back from casting.

I'm not surprised, but still sickly disappointed. Today I picked up my long awaited orthotics order. As my fear, the heel cup of my problem foot is killing me just the same as the OTC ones. The podiatrists office was packed, and I literally only got to see the doc long enough for the "hand off". I'm to slowly break them in, and come back in 3 weeks. I know when I call before then, they will think I'm not giving it a fair shake... but something is just not right.

Well, I can't stand in rightie without this pain. It is not the usual achey pressure that's expected with breaking orthotics in as I understand it. I know the foot musclses are getting a "work out".

I *think* rightie rolls to the outside. The heel cup is like a razor blade on the outside heel edge. Plus, with this rolling, the arch doesn't even hit all the way on the inside like lefty. Lefty seems to fit ok (felt very supported, but just ached after wear--not razor blade by any means). Curses Batman That's a lot of $$$ *sigh*...

I have one more PT session scheduled for tomorrow. I had planned to take them with me to show my PT. Maybe she can help me as well (with the gait part).

Any thoughts appreciated. Thx.

[shootingstar]

I'm sorry to hear about this latest problem.

I have been wearing customized plastic orthotics for over last 10 yrs.

Whenever I received a brand new pair of orthotics, I would insert them for only the following shoes:

*brand-new or barely used shoes. I never used orthotics for worn shoes that pre-date the orthotics. 'Cause those particular shoes have been worn down according to the footbase pattern WITHOUT the orthotic. Therefore a new orthotic to correct a problem will not correct a shoe worn down according to your previous foot/gait pattern.

Yes, of course, as a result I did have to discard some old shoes / just reserve them for special occcasion wear without an orthotic. Small sacrifice for long-term relief of foot pain was the way how I saw it. And of course, orthotics, completely changes (and limits) the range of shoe styles for future purchases if worn with orthotic.

*good quality shoes where the foot bed is reasonable neutral or flat before you insert the orthotic.

Would be interested in hearing what you learn about correcting an ill-fitting orthotic.

[salsabike]

Yes, I did have to get them adjusted from the original. They were made by a quite adorable (but I digress) sports podiatrist who is himself a runner, among other things. He did the adjustment in his office, ground down the places that needed it. I don't know what he used to do it, but he did it right there--watched me walk in them on camera on the treadmill; marked the places that needed adjustment, and ground/scraped those areas down.

I have one more tiny bump I will be asking him to take off when I go back next week, and then I think they will be right. Any podiatrist should be willing to adjust orthotics till they really fit! They cost enough so that they should get them right.

PTs often know a lot about orthotics too. The sports PT place I go to does custom orthotics.

[Bluetree]

Wow. Sorry to hear that.

I had no discomfort AT ALL with my orthotics and they fit me like a glove when they came in. There was no "break in period." I had an adjustment done (after I switched to a narrower shoe and under the eyes of my PT/chiro/doc who watched me on a bike). They made marks on my old orthotics and sent them back to the lab and new ones were cast. I got it back in two weeks and had no other issues.

EDIT: Mine were CF, not plastic.

[mtbdarby]

Miranda, if that foot is rolling and that is what is causing the pain, can you put a heel wedge in under the orthodic? That is what they did for me because my right foot rolls to the right and stays there. The heel wedge helped guide my heel back to the left so it didn't ride into the right side of the orthodic. Just a thought.....

[Ana]

Mine are plastic and come from a mold from the bottom of my foot. I have always been able to put them directly into my shoes (worn or unworn) and they are fine. I'm on my second (or third, I forget) set.

I am afraid I don't own a digital camera so I cannot post any pictures for you but they only slightly curve up at the edges, which have pretty obviously been blunted down.

If your arch is completely collapsed, inserts may not be enough to correct your problem comfortably.

I have found that putting them underneath the existing insole of athletic soles makes them more comfy.

I would begin researching podiatrists so you can change doctors if you are unsatisfied with the one you have if s/he does not address your concerns.

Just a thought: make sure you firmly believe that the inserts are yours and didn't get mixed up with someone else's....

Note: I have found that after long periods of not wearing my inserts, my arches get sore and then reintroducing the inserts is mildly uncomfortable in the arch area for a couple days.