Orthotics

Hi Swarf,

Havent seen Lawrence post on here for a good few years - so you may be waiting a while for his reply!

A good starting place is either your yellow pages or here

Is there a list of 'good' podiatrists around? Sadly no. If you dont have the fortune of a recommendation or word of mouth then it may be a gamble.

Things to look for:

• HPC registered
• Sports interest; sportsman/woman themselves; postgraduate sports/biomechnics qualifications

Hope this helps

SDoB

thanks for the reply SDoB, didn't look at the date of Lawrence' post, '2003'. had a look on your link and 37 popped up for Bristol, so seems to be a bit of a gamble. I'm going to ask at a local running shop hopefully they would have had some feed back from other runners.

Swarf.

Hi Rajan

 Firstly as I am a Podiatrist and interested in mechanics of the lower limb, I can offer you my perspective and hopefully clear up a few misconceptions for you.

Permanent Orthoses- that's also a new one on me- I isuue off the shelf, semi custom and custom orthotics, so I think that your Podiatrist is referring to custom-the question for the prescribing podiatrist should be whether you are a long distance or sprinter- this will determine the type of custom orthotics you need. And yes you don't have to get orthotics actually. the advice given to you about going to a specialed running shop to assess your running gait is a good one. The staff there will be able to determine whether you need a running shoe with or without correction. If you go for one with correction then you may not need orthotics-it depends on how much correction is in the shoe. However from personal experience of corrective footwear and being quite a severe abnormal pronator ( and no over or abnormal pronation is not normal, but it is common- pronation is normal- too much is abnormal, and can definitely lead to torsion on the knees and stress on ligaments and cartilage-hence knee pain), I didn't find the correction enough to support my running style, but a pari of neutral shoes with orthotics I have found much more comfortable.

Also if you are using orthotics in your shoes only take out the inner sock if they are full length and in a neutral pair.

As to variance- in fact this is varus - it means that your feet are in an inverted position just prior to heel strike so that they have enough pronation available in your joints to get down to the ground. 

Off the shel orthotics can be ok for a short period of time but remember they are stock orthotics not specifically designed to your feet where as custom ones are and are always going to be better and give you better correction and last longer.

Hope that helps, please feel free to ask me any advice.

Martin

martin@head2toeuk.com

www.head2toeuk.com

Hi Martin Vine,

Found your post very interesting, I only just started to get in to running and have suffered tendonitis in my knee (Patella). I am recieveing physio at the moment, ultra sound treatment. My Physio has recommended me getting a pair of custom orthotics made, he says that my problem comes from having one leg shorter from the other and I run on the out side of my heels (became obvious from the wear on my trainers). £250 is the price for the orthotics, my only concern is that 5 years ago i suffered trauma to both knees that left some knee damage, if the custom orthotics do not sort my problems out i'm left with a very expensive pair of insole.

Any advice would be greatfull.

Thank you

I have used orthotics for a few years and they sorted out the problems I had at the time. £120 all in. Probably a little more expensive now but not much

I just cut up some cardboard to shape and put it under the insole. Worked for me and saved a fortune.

just come across this thread and wanted to add my bit .... I have orthotics that Norbert Cauvas (Foot Factor) made for me and I haven't looked back. They're expensive but worth every penny and still cost less than many podiatrists charge.

He makes them while you wait so you can use them straight away and as you're there with him they are fitted perfectly. Give him a call as he also offers a 1/2hr free appt if you want to find out more before booking in. Different to UK podiatrists and brilliant.