Orthotics

Foot Orthotics: Gait Analysis
Your feet have a direct impact on the alignment and function of the entire body. This is because the feet are the foundation of the body and support its entire weight. Small changes in the foot’s structure can result in changes in the alignment of the ankle and knee. As a result, a chain reaction of compensational adjustments may occur which can change your posture and your gait (the way you walk). If these changes in body mechanics are not corrected, they can result in stress to joints higher up in your body resulting in hip pain, lower back pain and even neck and headache pain.

What Are Orthotics And What Do they Do?
Orthotics are custom made insoles that are worn in your shoes to provide correction of abnormal foot structure and to restore normal foot function.

How Do I Know If I Have A Foot Problem? How Are Orthotics Made?
Orthotics can be made in a variety of ways including making plaster casts of the feet, having a patient step into a foam mold or taking a non-weight bearing foam mold of the feet. At the Chiropractic & Sports Injury Center Of Jackson Hole we use Gaitscan™, a state-of-the-art computer hardware and software technology, to assess and analyze foot mechanics. 

What Is Gaitscan™ And What Does It Do?
Gaitscan™ is the gold standard of the orthotics industry providing the most technological and object assessment of real-time foot biomechanics. A Gaitscan™ assessment involves:

• Scanning of feet: The feet are scanned as the patient walks across a pressure plate composed of thousands of sensors that capture pressure recordings of the foot in real time.
• Mapping of foot pressures: Gaitscan™ state-of-the-art software displays 2D and 3D visual images of the pressure recordings captured of the feet throughout the gait cycle.
• Information recorded is summarized in a numerical report. Upon your physician’s review of the report it will be determined if your foot complaints are due to faulty foot mechanics and if you’re a candidate for orthotic therapy.

Foot Facts: Did you know?

• 25 % of the bones of the body are in the foot.
• The average person takes 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day.
• The average person will walk over 100,000 miles in a lifetime, or more than 4 times around the world.
• Women have four times as many foot problems as men due to fancy and poor fitting footwear.
• More than 75% of people will experience foot problems in their lifetime.

For more information about Gaitscan™ and The Orthotic Group visit their website at www.theorthoticgroup.com.