Feet are an amazing complex structure containing one quarter of the body's bones, held together with ligaments, muscles, tendons and fascia. Each day they carry you smoothly and efficiently through thousands of steps. Sometimes biomechanical problems develop, interrupting your smooth, pain free walking or running. A custom crafted orthotic can correct or accommodate for these mechanical issues which commonly occur.

Careful examination of your feet and gait, by a Physical Therapist, is an essential step in correctly addressing your foot problems. Biomechanical problems can simply be due to misaligned foot and ankle structure or related to a medical condition.

Everyone's feet, legs, hips and biomechanics, or the physical way your body functions, are unique. Improper foot alignment or skeletal imbalances can cause pain throughout your body by overstressing muscles, tendons, bones and joints. As you walk, custom orthotics can help to control your foot motion and weight distribution. They work to eliminate the specific causes of your pain, not just the symptoms.

No orthotic can be truly considered custom without a thorough biomechanical examination, gait analysis and casting of the feet. A Physical Therapist will perform a thorough gait analysis to study the way your foot functions while walking and standing. The measuring process involves taking a plaster cast of your feet while you are lying face down on an examination table. Each foot is placed in its correct position so that the orthotic device will conform to your foot. The cast is sent to a specialized laboratory for fabrication based upon your Physical Therapists’ casting and biomechanical assessment.