Beyond Foot Pain: 5 Ailments That can Be Alleviated With Custom Orthotics

Even minor foot pains can keep you from doing the physical activities you love. If your feet hurt after short periods of walking or standing, it may be time to consider the benefits of custom orthotics.

At Acacia Foot & Ankle Surgeons in Peoria, Arizona, we offer a variety of noninvasive treatment options, including custom orthotics for foot and ankle pain that relate to injuries or degenerative changes.

Kaveh Panahi, DPM, our highly skilled podiatrist, may recommend orthotics as an early treatment strategy for pain, which may help you avoid surgery.

An overview of custom orthotics

Orthotics are devices designed to provide additional cushioning and support for your feet and ankles. Orthotics commonly are inserts that fit inside your shoes to relieve unnecessary pressure on your feet and ankle joints.

Acacia Foot & Ankle Surgeons offers custom orthotics, devices created from molds of your feet. Custom orthotics provide more protection than the products you buy over the counter because they are built to the exact measurements of your feet.

Custom orthotics are often the first step in easing the pain of acute and chronic foot and ankle conditions.

5 conditions that can benefit from custom orthotics

While there are many painful conditions that can be corrected with custom orthotics, here are five of the most common:

1.Bunions

Bunions are painful bumps that form on the big toe joint. Bunions develop when there’s too much pressure on the joint from ill-fitting shoes, high heels, or other unsupportive footwear. Without treatment, bunions can force the big toe sideways and cause persistent pain that interferes with your mobility.

Custom orthotics can correct the alignment of your toe joints to relieve pain and potentially prevent the need for bunion repair surgery.

2. Flat feet

Flatfeet is a condition that describes the collapse of the arches of your feet or the improper development of arches in childhood. This condition causes the soles of your feet to lie flat, which can lead to pain in the feet, ankles, and legs.

Shoe inserts and other custom orthotics can serve as arch supports to improve your mobility and alleviate pain.

3. Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint condition that develops when the protective cartilage that lines the ends of your joint bones breaks down and wears away. The loss of cartilage allows the bones to rub together, which creates friction, inflammation, and pain.

Custom orthotics help to keep the joints of your feet and ankles in proper alignment to prevent the premature loss of cartilage. The devices also relieve pressure on your feet and ankle joints to minimize pain and swelling.

4. Diabetic neuropathy

Uncontrolled diabetes can damage nerve fibers in the legs and feet and cause pain, weakness, tingling, and numbness. Loss of sensation in your feet can also increase your risk for slow-healing or non healing diabetic ulcers.

Custom orthotics can relieve pressure on the soles of your feet to prevent ulcers, calluses, and blisters that, if left untreated, can develop into a complicated infection.

5. Ankle tendonitis

Ankle tendonitis describes inflammation of the tendons that support the ankle joint, which causes persistent ankle pain, swelling, and other symptoms. Tendonitis can be acute or chronic and stems from overuse, sports injuries, and degenerative changes that occur with aging.

The use of custom orthotics can help absorb the impact of your movements that worsens tendonitis pain and the further deterioration of soft tissues in your ankle joint.

Call Acacia Foot & Ankle Surgeons today to find out how custom orthotics can work for you, or book an appointment online.