How Custom Orthotics Help Alleviate Your Foot Problems

If you have foot or ankle problems, you’ve probably learned to be picky about your shoes. In fact, you might have spent hours trying on different pairs to give your lower limbs the support and/or cushioning they need.

With custom orthotics — or shoe inserts specifically made for your foot — you get a way to take any pair of shoes and make them work better for you. That’s why Christopher Vittori, DPM, Ameet Thakrar, DPM, and our team at Vittori Foot & Ankle Specialist offer orthotics at our offices in Homer Glen and New Lenox, Illinois. With these tailored inserts, we can transform your shoes in targeted ways. 

Specifically, we can create orthotics to accomplish two specific purposes — or both at the same time. 

Extra cushioning

We make some orthotics to provide the padding your foot needs, right where it needs it. These types of orthotics are called soft or accommodative orthotics. 

With these shoe inserts, we can help to alleviate pressure on specific parts of your feet and protect certain areas. As a result, these types of orthotics can be helpful for people with conditions like arthritis, corns and calluses, bunions, and diabetic foot ulcers. 

Guidance for your foot

In some cases, your podiatric problem stems from abnormal motion in your foot or ankle. With orthotics made from a rigid (e.g., carbon fiber or plastic) or semi-rigid (e.g., thermoplastic or rubber) material, we can control excess movement as you walk or run. 

As a result, these functional orthotics can help to ease pain in your feet, ankles, and thighs. They can help with issues like tendinitis, hammertoe, or shin splints, for example. 

Getting what you need

Clearly, different orthotics serve different functions. Here at Vittori Foot & Ankle Specialist, our team evaluates your feet with a comprehensive exam to determine what you need. That way, we can determine if you would benefit from accommodative (i.e., soft) orthotics, functional (i.e, rigid) orthotics, or semi-rigid ones that deliver both cushioning and support. 

If we determine that custom orthotics would fulfill a need for your foot, we take a digital scan of your feet and ankles. This allows us to create your orthotic to precisely fit your foot, drastically differentiating your orthotics from the inserts you can buy over the counter.

Creating your orthotics usually takes about a week. Once they’re ready, we have you return to our office so we can make any adjustments necessary to give you the best, most comfortable fit.

If you’re living with foot, ankle, or leg pain, custom orthotics may be able to address it. To find out if these tailored shoe inserts could help you, visit our team. Call Vittori Foot & Ankle Specialist or schedule an appointment online today.