Custom Foot Orthotics Proven to Decrease Running Injuries!

Top 3 questions runners ask us about custom foot orthotics:

1. Do I need to wear custom foot orthotics if I'm not injured?
2. Will custom foot orthotics improve my performance?
3. Will I need to wear custom foot orthotics forever?

Researchers answer all three questions with an empathic YES!Research proves that orthotics have a significant benefit in reducing running injuries. Of course it does. Anybody surprised? 3.5 times your body weight passes through your feet with each and every step. This is obviously magnified when running! The only way to minimize this loading stress is to restore normal working posture and function to the foot. Arizona Orthotics does this by capturing your full available arch with our unique 3-D casting technique. We then calibrate your orthotic specific to your foot shape, flexibility, weight, and activity level.

Research shows that those wearing orthotics had "a significantly reduced rate of exercise-related lower limb injury across the training period". The authors emphasized that participants were prescribed orthotics to reduce the potential risk of injury, not because they were dealing with an injury. In addition, the authors feel that the "preventative results can be cautiously extrapolated to a recreational running setting and should be considered by sports and exercise medicine professionals."

Foot facts: your foot goes through 2 general motions...pronation and supination (see video demo). Optimal pronation and supination is how your body absorbs the shock of your bodyweight from gravity and is totally dependent upon the posture of each foot. Pronation is when the foot unlocks as it hits the ground for shock absorption. The higher your foot arch, the more time your foot has to decelerate your bodyweight after your foot strikes the ground. Immediately after your foot unlocks for pronation, it must re-stiffen or lock. This locking is called supination. Supination creates the leverage necessary to propel you forward and onto your next step.

Yes, you need to wear custom foot orthotics if you're not injured because it will reduce your risk of injury. Injuries retard progression and ultimately result is a set-back that can be prevented.

Yes, a custom foot orthotic can improve your performance. However, only a custom foot orthotic created specific to your full available arch will optimize pronation and supination! Orthotics that fail to capture your full available arch are simply expensive shoe inserts.

Yes, you'll need to wear custom foot orthotics forever. Unless of course you'd prefer to lose the biomechanical advantage a true custom foot orthotic offers.


Reference:

Franklyn-Miller A, Wilson C, Bilzon J, et al. Foot orthoses in the prevention of injury in initial military training: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Sports Med 39(1):30-37, 2011.