Why Orthotics

When a person’s arches begin to collapse or “over pronate”, the foot becomes unstable and with time, a person can develop foot damage, especially to the bones. In addition to this, ligaments and tendons can become torn or stretched, which can lead to many conditions if left uncorrected. These include bunions, hammer toe, heel and arch pain, and many more.

Another harmful effect of uncorrected over pronation is limb length discrepancy. The difference in leg length adds a tilting component to the already detrimental effects of the excessive stress along the entire kinetic chain and you wind up with some degree of “shearing of the two halves of the body.”

Nothing can replace a customized, tailor-made shoe insert that is molded exactly to the shape and form of your feet. That is why a custom orthotic can be so beneficial in helping treat conditions such as plantar fasciitis, fallen arches, back, heel and hip pain.

A Doctor’s Discovery

Dr. Robert Levine of Florida BioMechanics Group in Largo, Florida has successfully treated this condition using Icon Orthotics® custom shoe inserts. Although he treats patients in St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Tampa and Largo, patients come from all over the United States for treatment and relief of foot and back pain.

According to Dr. Levine, properly designed orthotics address the causes of various disabilities, deformities and conditions at the source, rather than the symptoms. Orthotics are a way to put something between foot and footwear to neutralize the deforming/atrophying effects of the environment on the foot and on the links between the foot and different body joints (a person’s so-called “kinetic chain”). Orthotics are an artificial way of adjusting to the environment – an evolutionary short cut.

With all this being said, how do you think the developing feet of our children are affected by concrete? How do we prevent our children’s skeletal system from being adversely affected before their bones even have a chance to fully ossify?

Like all problems, truly understanding the basic cause is the first thing you must achieve before you can solve a problem; and although it can be said that concrete breaks a body down, the problem has been solved with that theory and the developed technology which came from it.

To find out more about Icon Orthotics®, or to locate a Podiatrist licensed in Biomechanics Technology, click here.