Pre-made orthotics

 

Customized orthotics are quite expensive and not necessary whenever you only have a tiny problem and it is OK to adjust my daily routine. In such cases, pre-made orthotics will be a good choice. How do choose the most suitable pre-made orthotics? There are 10 misconceptions we need to avoid.

The softer the insole, the more comfortable it is

For soft pre-made orthotic, the first feeling of stepping on, 99% of people will feel it is right. People with normal feet or slightly flat feet, regardless of whether they have pain or not, will feel comfortable for a few days after wearing them, but some people will feel more and more pain afterward. The reason is that the soft-body insole provides an unstable contact surface for the wearer, which makes the foot structure easy to swing from side to side. If there are injured tissues in the foot, such as plantar fasciitis, increasing the movement of the plantar joints when walking will aggravate the injury and increase the pain. In fact, many of the pains of our customers are caused by wearing soft insoles.

Want to buy shoes one size bigger to put insoles

If you buy larger shoes to put the pre-made orthotics, there are two problems: first, buying shoes that are one size larger will cause the forefoot of the shoe to tilt and disagree with the foot, that is, the foot site must be harder to bend the forefoot of the shoe. Walking, so that the toes and the bottom of the forefoot will be prone to pain or deformation (as shown in the picture); second, even if the space in the larger shoe is large, the depth of the shoe is shallow, that is, the heel of the shoe may not be wrapped. After kicking one’s feet, it is easy to have a “flicking kick” situation.

The more expensive the insole, the better the function

Sometimes I hear a customer complain: “I spent thousands of dollars on the insoles, don’t you know that it will cause pain in your feet? ”

This is an illogical thinking mistake: the more expensive the insole, the more comfortable it will be? Expensive insoles maybe because they are foreign famous brands, the materials are good, and the prices are high; it may also be because the packaging is gorgeous, and low-cost products are packaged and sold at high prices, but insoles are not handbags but are a kind of functional product to a certain extent. Functionality means that the materials and shapes of the pre-made orthotics have a direct relationship with the wearer. In fact, I see that there are many popular pre-made orthotics in the market, which are very cost-effective, not the more expensive the better.

Wearing elder brother/sisters’ insole

This concept is almost the same as that of wearing a large shoe and wearing it carefully. You know, everyone’s feet are different in shape and weight. The elder brother was wearing it at the time, when the younger brother wears it, it may be due to the shape of the foot, such as the degree of flat feet. Wearing it may cause discomfort or pressure points. Moreover, after wearing the insole for a period of time, there is already a certain degree of loss that is not worth saving money on functional pre-made orthotics.

Buy a new pair of insoles until they are bad

It is difficult to generalize how durable the insole needs to be worn before it needs to be replaced. Generally, ready-made insoles have a wearing life of about a few weeks to a year, while custom-made insoles will take longer, about 1-2 years, but many factors affect the material of the insole, the weight of the wearer, the purpose of wearing, and the type of wear, frequency density and so on. Many people think that they buy the right new ones until they are bad, but this is not a good indicator.

Insoles generally have a certain functional value, such as shock absorption, support, increase contact surface to protect the foot, and so on. If you wear it to a certain point, you feel that the related functions disappear, the pain comes back, etc., it may be time to change the insole. In fact, the best way is to bring back the insoles to the relevant professionals to evaluate whether they are still suitable.

Don’t wear the insoles until your feet hurt

The purpose of wearing functional insoles is to improve your walking posture so that the pain will improve. One day, there is no more pain on the road. Many people think it is good, but in fact, the foot shape still deviates, that is, flat feet and other problems still exist. If you stop using the pre-made orthotics and walk around for a while, the posture will change again, so the pain will return easily. It is best to start doing some exercises to strengthen the muscles of the lower limbs when wearing the insoles if the pain is gradually reduced to the dependence of the feet on the insoles.

Should I buy shoes before insoles, or insoles before buying shoes

The insole is selected according to the needs and purpose of the wearer, that is, in the process of purchasing pre-made orthotics or custom-made insoles, the first thing to consider should be “This kind of insole design is suitable for me?”After choosing the insole, it is reasonable to find a pair of shoes that can be put on.

My friend wears a certain brand of insoles comfortably, I will follow

In one sentence, it means you are comfortable. For the same reason, a certain brand of competition running shoes is just because the world-class runners are picking up again, and the runners next to them are picking up again, and they rush to buy them. Many of them are facing the toes until they are sore. Everyone has different foot types, different muscle strengths, and different walking postures. The same shoe or insole certainly cannot suit everyone’s situation. The simplest is to try it on, stop if there is any adverse reaction, or find a professional to check it.

The left pair is custom-made by heating and shaping so that it was adjusted to the shape of my foot.

Heating and setting mean that the insole has a basic shape or is flat like a piece of paper. After being heated by a hot air gun or an oven, the shape can be changed to a limited extent, depending on the shape of the foot. It feels like it is customized according to the shape of the foot, and it can be instantly delivered to a customer, but from the perspective of orthopedics, the effect of providing mechanical correction is relatively poor, and the life of the insole will be shorter.

If you want to get a pair of true orthotic insoles, the technology up to now requires taking the foot model, handing it over to the factory for production, and sending it back to the center for testing after completion. Insoles manufactured through the above process generally have the most ideal bearing capacity and longevity.

After the foot hurts in the insole, it will not hurt anymore

This is a problem of the “reasonable expectations” that many people have for insoles. Foot pain Wearing a properly designed insole can help reduce pain, but it should be clear that the causes of pain can include cumulative strain and inflammation, insufficient muscle strength resulting in improper posture injury, and long-term pressure on a certain area of ​​the foot. Relying on pre-made orthotics is useful, but not enough. It needs to cooperate with other things, such as physical therapy, exercise, wearing appropriate footwear, etc., to improve in several ways.

 

Related Article:

https://aideastep.com/orthotic-insoles-role-in-several-foot-diseases/
https://aideastep.com/insole-brands/
https://aideastep.com/insole-and-outsole/
https://aideastep.com/what-is-the-reasonable-useful-lifetime-of-orthotics-prosthetics-devices/