Build a Pain-Free Foundation
Your feet are the structural foundation of your entire body. Whether you are navigating the busy downtown Calgary core, standing for 10-hour shifts on hard concrete, or hiking the trails of the nearby Rockies, your feet absorb massive amounts of force every single day. When that foundation is compromised by poor biomechanics or flat arches, the impact doesn't just stay in your feet, it travels up your kinetic chain, causing severe pain in your knees, hips, and lower back.
At Shephard Health in Kensington, we provide expert biomechanical assessments and premium Custom Foot Orthotics (often referred to as custom insoles). Our orthotics are precision-crafted medical devices designed to correct your specific foot mechanics, alleviate chronic pain, and get you back to your active lifestyle.
Many patients come to us after spending hundreds of dollars on generic, over-the-counter gel inserts from the pharmacy. While these drugstore insoles may provide a temporary cushion, they do not correct the underlying mechanical failure of your foot. It is like putting a soft pillow under a structurally crooked house, it might feel softer, but the house is still crooked.
Custom foot orthotics are entirely different. They are prescription medical devices engineered specifically for your unique foot structure, weight, and activity level. After a rigorous biomechanical analysis and 3D casting of your feet, the orthotics are manufactured in a specialized laboratory. They provide rigid or semi-rigid structural support to realign your foot and ankle, taking the excessive load off your damaged tissues, ligaments, and joints.
By correcting your foundation, custom foot orthotics can successfully treat and prevent a wide variety of painful musculoskeletal conditions, including:
By supporting the medial arch and preventing overpronation (the inward rolling of the foot), custom orthotics relieve the immense tension placed on the plantar fascia, allowing it to finally heal.
When your feet overpronate, your lower leg rotates inward, dragging your knee out of proper alignment. Orthotics stabilize the foot strike, preventing the dangerous rotational forces that cause knee pain.
Custom additions, such as metatarsal pads, can be built directly into your orthotics to spread the bones of your forefoot, relieving the burning nerve pain associated with Morton's Neuroma.
If you have a slight leg length discrepancy or asymmetrical arches, your pelvis will tilt to compensate. Custom insoles can balance your gait, leveling your pelvis and providing immediate relief to your lower back.
Getting fitted for custom orthotics at Shephard Health is a comprehensive, clinically driven process designed to ensure a perfect fit.
Investing in your structural health is an important decision. Based on the questions we receive most often at our Calgary clinic, here is what you need to know about custom orthotics.
Don't let faulty foot mechanics dictate your quality of life. Get to the root cause of your pain with expert biomechanical care.