[When and why functional orthotics?]

Human walking. It's so simple that we almost forget that it works. It's only when the locomotion give pain that we take care about our feet, ankle, knee, hip or back. First of all, the podiatrist must perform a biomechanical examination of the foot and lower extremities. Angular measurements are taken of all the lower joints to determine the range of motion and, therefore, the level of any structural or functional deformities. The podiatrist will also do a walking and/or running gait analysis of the patient to determine how their foot and lower extremities functions. Understanding the biomechanics of the locomotion is of critical importance when the mechanism of an injury must be determined to decide on a appropriate treatment plan for the patient. The advantage of that kind of procedure is that each correction is custom made for each foot of each patient, so that each foot orthoses will only fit one foot correctly. Those functional orthoses also have greater potential to effectively and permanently treat painful conditions, all the way from the toes to the lower back, since they are designed specifically for an individual's biomechanical nature. Foot orthoses, since they are custom made, are almost always more corrective and comfortable than over-the-counter foot inserts, even thought over-the-counter inserts do work for some people.