Why over the counter orthotics are not custom or functional
The foot aisle at your local pharmacy or your nearest shoe store are often the first stops for patients experiencing foot pain.
Sometimes, these over the counter devices work to relieve painful foot symptoms, or at least for a short time period. But more often than not, they do not provide long lasting pain resolution. One of the biggest reasons for this is that they are usually made of accommodative, flexible material that do not control your unique biomechanics. While accommodative orthotics do have a place for certain patients with specific foot pathologies, they very often fail to improve relatively healthy individuals younger than 75 years old with a normal, functioning gait (how you walk). Another reason for over the counter failures is that patients may have an underlying medical condition affecting their feet that will not be resolved by a mass-made product. And just as your right and left eyes often require a different prescription, your right and left feet are not identical either and are very rarely corrected by over the counter devices.