Think that orthotics are only for your feet? Think again. Orthotics can benefit anyone, not just people with foot pain or injuries. Orthotics can help with posture, balance, back pain, athletic performance, and more. Dr. Tony Avakian and his team from Valencia Foot & Ankle Center may recommend that you try orthotics in Valencia, CA for foot pain, but may also recommend them for issues that you may never have thought of.
How Can Orthotics Help Me?
Some of the benefits of wearing orthotics are:
- Decreased foot pain: Orthotics even out the distribution of force from your body weight and absorb some of it before they transfer to your feet. This may involve applying more cushioning and support in some areas of your feet and decreasing it in others. Orthotics help to make sure one part of your foot is not overworked, which can lead to pain and injury if a single area of the foot is consistently absorbing the brunt of repetitive forces from running and walking.
- Shock absorption and support: The repetitive pounding nature of walking and running both produce large amounts of force on your feet. Orthotics absorb these pounding forces before they can transfer to your feet, which may prevent future injuries.
- Help injuries heal faster: Injury prevention is the primary goal of the above two benefits, but if you already have an injury to the foot, orthotics can help. They can be tailored to distribute body weight in a way conducive to aiding the healing of your specific injury, allowing overworked structures to relax and heal. They can redistribute forces so the pressure is relieved from injured parts of the foot that need a break. Conversely, orthotics can adjust the amount of force transferred to healthier parts of the foot that can handle the increased pressure.
- Even out leg length discrepancies: Some people have different leg lengths causing back, knee, or hip pain. Using orthotics in Valencia, CA may be a simple solution to this issue. Wearing just one orthotic in the shoe of the shorter leg may be enough to even out the asymmetry and relieve pain. Another strategy is to try wearing different thicknesses of orthotics in each shoe.
- Help with back pain: Gait and posture will benefit from wearing orthotics. Less pain and more comfort from wearing orthotics may result in a straighter spine and decreased back pain.
- Improve balance: When body weight is more evenly distributed on the foot, or the forces transferred to your feet are distributed in a way that eases pain, your balance will improve.
- Improved athletic performance: All of the above benefits will help you run faster and jump higher. Your muscles, tendons, and ligaments can do their main job. Orthotics will take care of shock absorption for your feet.
Contact Us
Schedule a consultation with Dr. Avakian at Valencia Foot & Ankle Center in Valencia, CA to discuss orthotics. You can reach us by calling (661) 288-2321.