Foot Care

Orthotics • Compression Stockings • Foot Conditions

Orthotics

Foot orthotics are designed to support, align and improve the function of your feet and lower limbs during while walking or participating in physical activities.

When we fit you for custom orthotics, we are creating support to alter certain movements or offload stress within the tissues of your feet and legs.

Orthotics provide pain relief and ongoing support to allow for realignment of the knees, hips and spine, thereby providing relief for a range of problems that are not just limited to your feet. For example, if you have arthritis, diabetes, or circulatory conditions, you also can benefit from wearing orthotics, as they act as an effective preventative treatment.

Orthotics can help relieve pain caused by these conditions:

• Achilles tendonitis
• Plantar Fasciitis (heel pain)
• Metatarsalgia
• Claw Toes
• Pronation (flat feet)
• Supination (high arch feet)
• Bunions
• Tibialis Posterior
• Dysfunction
• Shin pain
• Knee problems

Improve Your Foot Health In Three Easy Steps

Step 1: Assessment

We conduct a thorough assessment before making any orthotic recommendations.
Our assessment includes:

• Biomechanical Assessment: Which assesses your range of movement, gait and function.
• Pathological Assessment: We determine if there are any other physical factors that might be causing foot abnormalities, such as injuries, specific health conditions, your job, and lifestyle
• Footwear Analysis: Your footwear will be evaluated, and recommendations should be made for shoes that provide you with the right support

Step 2: Prescription

The orthotic prescription should take into account the above three considerations in order to determine what you’ll need. We will help you choose the right material (plastic polymer, EVA or carbon fibre) that will provide you with the right support. For patients with sensitive foot problems, including elderly or people with serious injuries (such as ulcers), softer, more flexible orthotics will be made to provide support without causing further pain to already sensitive areas.

For serious conditions which require ankle and foot support, customized orthotics can be made following a biomechanical assessment.

Once we’ve done the assessment and prescribed your orthotics, we send your order off to the lab to be made.

Step 3: Fitting Session and Follow Up

Once your custom orthotics come back from the lab, we will book you in for a fitting session. At this session, we will make sure that the orthotics fit properly in your shoes and walk you through your first few months of wear. We will also bring you back in at the one month and 3-month mark to make sure the orthotics are working the way they’re supposed to at no additional cost.

Compression Stockings

Peripheral Vascular Disease is the medical name given to a group of problems causing poor circulation to the feet and legs. The most common cause of this is the hardening of the arteries (aka atherosclerosis) in which there is a gradual thickening and hardening of the walls of the blood vessels that bring blood to the extremities from your heart.

What are the symptoms?

The symptoms experienced can depend on which artery is affected and how much the blood flow is reduced.
Some symptoms include:

• Claudication (this is a dull cramping pain in the calf muscle that comes on after walking a certain distance * usually relieved by rest)

• Numbness or tingling in the foot or toes

• Changes in the colour of the skin (it becomes more pale, bluish, or reddish)
• Changes in the skin temperature (the foot becomes cooler to the touch)
• Skin breakdowns, infection and sores do not heal as well as they should

How Can Compression Stockings Help?

You can wear compression stockings for various reasons. If you commute for more than four hours a day, fly often, or participate in sports like CrossFit or marathon running, compression stockings can help regulate blood flow and reduce discomfort and swelling in your legs.

In addition, compression stockings can help ease the swelling due to:

• Pregnancy
• Travel (aka “Economy Class Syndrome”)
• Spider veins
• Varicose veins
• Venous edema
• Leg ulcer
• Deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
• Lymphedema
• Lipedema
• Diabetes

If you have one of these conditions, speak with your family physician about getting a prescription for compression stockings, and then see us to find your perfect fit.

Podiatric management of those with peripheral vascular disease (poor circulation) should include:

• A complete evaluation and assessment of the circulation status of your feet, reviewing your prescription, and measuring you for your custom stockings
• Reassessments of your status every 6 months
• Advice on foot care and fitting footwear

We have a wide range of stockings suitable for everyday wear, sport, and maternity that will make it easy to find stockings to fit your life and your style

Foot Conditions

In addition to treating the foot conditions listed below, we can also diagnose and advise upon a large variety of Dermatological, Orthopaedic, Neurological and Vascular conditions that affect your feet.

• Bunions
• Curley Toes
• Hannertoes
• Burning Feet