“Custom” means different things to different people. When building a new house, the homeowners may have options and the opportunity to “customize” the house. This typically means choosing between five or six options for things like type of flooring, style and wood type of cabinets, and grade of kitchen appliances. A truly custom home entails sitting down with an architect and builder to design the house from the foundation up.
A recent commercial for “custom orthotics” touts the technology of force plate kiosks to assist customers in selecting the most appropriate orthotic for their feet type. If you can select an orthotic from a shelf, it is not truly a “custom orthotic.” It is new construction that looks strikingly similar to your neighbor’s house except for the maple cabinets instead of oak and the front room is an office instead of a sitting room. For some, this may be okay and just enough to do the trick. Endurance athletes, however, regularly put their bodies through a rigorous array of physical challenges and require the appropriate tools to sustain themselves.
Real PT clinics offer truly custom orthotics that includes a plaster mold of the feet, video analysis to assess for biomechanics, measurements, and an evaluation conducted by a specially trained professional. The video of the individual running on a treadmill is slowed down to show frame-by-frame movements and to assess for biomechanical faults within the body’s natural movement patterns. The molds and measurements are sent to a specialty lab for custom fabrication.
When all of the pieces of the puzzle are put together at the follow-up visit, an amazing picture emerges: one of pain-free running and the ability to enjoy the activities and lifestyle that comes with this level of freedom. This is something that doesn’t often come right off the shelf of a department store. Considering that about 80% of runners have some structural problem at their feet which can result in foot, knee, hip, and low back pain, it is a great option to have at your disposal.
