by Shawn Mead ,DPT
Whether you are an avid runner, recreational walker, or on your feet for a majority of the day, it is important to protect your support structure. This begins with proper footwear. Not only is it imperative to maintain adequate arch support, but it is also important to find a good balance between comfort and rigidity. We can’t always go with the most fashionable-we must consider what’s best for our bodies for the long haul.
Southland Physical Therapy recommends and encourages the use of foot orthotics to help encourage natural gait mechanics, and to reduce compensations that can lead to injury throughout the body, from the head to the toes. There are times when the foot may excessively or inadequately pronate during walking or running, which can lead to injuries sustained at the knee, hip, and low back. At Southland, we offer custom orthotics through Footmaxx, which is a system to determine more definitively a biomechanical assessment of gait. Because walking and running are dynamic activities, it makes logical sense to capture what the foot is doing during movement. Footmaxx’s metascan pressure mat does just that. We are able to assess new patients for foot function, and each of them is able to see first hand where and how they distribute pressure when ambulating.