Your feet are one of the most important parts of your body. Have you ever imagined what life would be like without your feet? Your feet help you a whole lot more than you can imagine. When you wake up from sleep in the morning, they take you to the bathroom to freshen up for work. They also take you to your workplace if you decide to walk or help you press the gas pedal if you choose to drive. More still, they carry the weight of your entire body while standing at work. We can spend the whole day trying to figure out the great functions of our feet.
However, despite the work our feet do, many people still treat them poorly. They do not maintain optimal foot health. Now, this is not about pedicures or foot massages. It’s about putting the feet in proper footwear and using only the best shoes for foot support. It’s okay to say you wear your sneakers, slippers, moccasins, or other fashion boots regularly. But these shoes are not designed to give your feet the best support, no matter how hard the manufacturers try to advertise them. This everyday footwear is not just enough for your hardworking feet. This is where orthotics or orthopedic footwear come in.
Your everyday footwear does not account for the foot anatomy. They are mainly built for fashion. If you keep wearing regular footwear, you set your feet up for injuries and foot fatigue. You may also get knee and back pain from shoes. You may begin to find your daily activities less enjoyable, and with time, cause pain.
Why you need Orthotics
Your feet can be compared to the foundation of a building. If the foundation is not supported properly, it can put stress on the building and distort its integrity. For similar reasons, your feet need footwear that provides good support. Your feet are made up of bones, joints, tendons, and muscles that interact with each other to provide heel stability, alignment, and proper arch support. With this arrangement, it is easy for your body to absorb shock properly, maintain balance, and distribute your body weight equally.
Your everyday footwear does not account for the foot anatomy. They are mainly built for fashion. If you keep wearing regular footwear, you set your feet up for injuries and foot fatigue. You may also get knee and back pain from shoes. You may begin to find your daily activities less enjoyable, and with time, cause pain.
With orthotic footwear, your feet go through the day without discomfort. When you wake up and immediately wear your custom orthotics around the house, it helps improve the alignment of your body mechanics. If you suffer from a painful foot condition, orthotic shoes provide foot pain relief from the start of the day. By midday, especially if you’re at work and depending on your occupation, you may have already been standing or walking for a while. This is typically when sore knees and aching feet peak. However, with orthotics, you’ll feel energized and ready to finish your tasks for the day.
By evening, as the workday ends, people wearing regular shoes are often eager to take them off. Some may have such sore feet that they can barely move, while others may experience stiff joints. In truth, you’d be better off going barefoot all day than wearing shoes that don’t support your feet properly. Whether you’re working, participating in sports like running, or simply resting at home, wearing orthotics is essential for proper foot support.
Drop the everyday footwear
If your feet could talk, they would tell you to stop wearing regular shoes. Interestingly, they already do this—just in uncomfortable ways. Some individuals develop plantar fasciitis, a condition where the plantar fascia, a band of tissue connecting the heel bone to the toes and supporting the foot’s arch, becomes inflamed due to improper footwear, causing pain. Others may develop common foot issues like bunions, a painful condition where a bump forms at the base of the big toe due to prolonged pressure on the feet.
Many other conditions have been directly or indirectly linked to wearing regular shoes. Even worse, the complications from these conditions are not limited to the feet; they also affect the knees, thighs, hips, and back. For example, with flat feet, the knees and thighs rotate inward, creating an exaggerated curvature in the lower back. If this deformity is not corrected quickly, it can put pressure on the knees and hips, leading to chronic lower back pain—a debilitating consequence of poor footwear.
Additionally, wearing regular shoes can distort the biomechanics of the foot, which are essential for the proper functioning of the lower extremities, such as providing traction for movement and dissipating force. For instance, regular shoes often have what is known as the ‘drop phenomenon,’ where the heels are higher than the forefoot. This can cause the calf muscles to become shorter and tighter, reducing flexibility in the ankle region.Orthotic footwear comes in various forms and shapes, tailored for different occasions. You can always find custom-made orthotics that suit your fashion style, whether full shoe inserts, semi-rigid orthotics, rigid orthotics, or ankle-foot orthotics. Contact us now to find orthotic footwear suited to your needs and get proper footwear advice.
