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The Agony of Da Feet

For many people with chronic or recurrent episodes of low back pain, the cause of their pain might not be actually coming from their back.  Think of your feet as the foundation of a building (your body).  If there is a problem in the foundation, there will be problems in the building.  If your feet are not functioning properly when you walk, this can often times affect all parts of your body above the feet, including the ankles, knees, hips and low back.  Orthotics are customized insoles worn in any type of shoe and they correct the way a patient walks.  This simple addition to your shoes might make all the difference in the world.

The traditional method of assessing patients takes approximately one hour and requires the clinician to take a plaster or foam block mold (a static mold) of the shape of the patient's foot while the foot is static, non-weight bearing and held in an exact position. This is an unreliable modality because if the patient moves, or if the clinician isn't skilled in the "art" of taking a mold, the assessment will be inaccurate, and the resulting orthotics will be inaccurate. In fact, by their own admission, plaster labs receive molds that "are not perfect, 94% of the time." That means that 94% of the orthotics made from those molds "are not perfect." That translates to discomfort and inconvenience for the patient as they must return the orthotics to the clinician for adjustments.

One minor advancement in the manufacture of orthotics is the advent of computerized assessment. Although these systems offer a faster assessment, they are still making the orthotics from a static, non-weight bearing foot.

As you know, foot pain doesn't occur when your feet are not bearing your body weight; it occurs when you are standing, walking, or running. Therefore it makes more sense for orthotics to be made from a dynamic, weight bearing assessment.

The Footmaxx system offers a consistent and repeatable assessment that takes only moments and is based on science. Taking an accurate assessment with the Footmaxx system is not an "art." Because this scientific modality is so accurate and because it measures foot function, the orthotics produced are thinner, lighter, specific to each patient's biomechanical abnormality, and can be worn in everyday shoes.

Footmaxx orthotics are flat in the heel area because the correction is based on midtarsal joint function. This flat heel is what allows patients to wear Footmaxx orthotics in everyday footwear.

The Footmaxx System

Footmaxx is a young, dynamic Canadian company offering the only truly computerized system for fabricating prescription foot orthotics. They are the largest supplier of orthotics in Canada and are proud to say that 29 of 30 Major League Baseball teams and 13 National Football League teams wear their product.

A 5-minute gait and pressure analysis test will tell you if you are a candidate for orthotics. At Arcadia Spinal Health Center, we utilize the Foot Maxx system for our patients with foot, ankle, knee, hip or low back pain.