EP #4: Beneath Every Step: Understanding Orthotics

Ever wondered what orthotics are and how they play a crucial role in foot care? Let's demystify this fascinating world together! Join us as we, your hosts Dr. Lauren Dabakaroff and Jeremy Wolf, share a riveting discussion on how orthotics are not just a piece of plastic for your arch but are custom-built to correct your foot, ankle, and leg alignment. Just like prescription glasses fine-tune your vision, custom orthotics ensure you walk better, pain-free, and prevent future injuries.

As we dive further, we uncover the significant differences between custom orthotics and pre-fabricated inserts. The former, as Dr. Dabakaroff explains, is designed to cater to specific foot problems, while the latter offers a less precise but readily available solution. Discover as we journey through Jeremy's recent running expedition and discuss how the right shoes, the correct orthotic device, and regular exercise contribute to maintaining foot health. Listen in as Dr. Dabakaroff shares invaluable tips to help you decide if custom orthotics are for you or if over-the-counter inserts will suffice. After all, it's about time to get back on your feet!

To learn more, visit: LMDpodiatry.com or contact (954) 680-7133

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

Welcome to the LMD podiatry podcast. Trust us to get back on your feet. Here's your host, Dr Lauren Devakarov.

Jeremy: 0:15

Hello, hello everyone, and welcome to episode number four of the LMD podiatry podcast. I'm your cohost, Jeremy Wolff, and I'm joined by your host, Dr Lauren Devakarov.

Dr. Lauren: 0:28

Hey, hey.

Jeremy: 0:30

Good to see you again. Always a pleasure.

Dr. Lauren: 0:32

Yes, definitely. I'm excited for this Thursday in the middle of October. It's finally cooling down.

Jeremy: 0:43

Indeed, it is. So I know we've been talking, we've been having this common theme in discussions about running, running and shoes and all that, and actually I've caught the bug when it comes to running. I ran 6.2 miles the other day so I've been like I'm doing some 5Ks, so, oh, you are destroying your feet, oh, okay. Well, I don't know, I tend to have an addictive personality and at least I'm applying it to something relatively healthy for me overall. But yeah, so what I wanted to talk about today because I have flat feet and I don't have orthotics right now, and since I am running a lot more, I thought I'd be sure a little bit about orthotics and their role in foot care and things like that. Yeah, so can you start by talking a little bit about that, the role of orthotics in foot care?

Dr. Lauren: 1:37

Oh yeah. So what is an orthotic? Okay, everybody doesn't know what that word actually means. An orthotic is essentially an insert that you put in your shoe, and what it does is it corrects your foot.

Dr. Lauren: 1:54

A lot of people just think, oh, it's just a you know piece of plastic that goes in your arch. No, it think you got to think of it as a perspective. Like it's prescription glasses. Just like you get prescription glasses for your eyes adjust your eyesight so you can see better, a custom orthotic adjusts the way you walk so you can walk better and more corrected and pain free. So just to give an example, like a lot of shoes today, they're made for foot size and not for foot type. So you know, at some point they wear out. They're not actually. They're giving you some shock absorption but they're not actually correcting your foot. And that's what an orthotic does. It aligns your foot with your ankle and your leg and when you do that, it redistributes the pressure more evenly in your foot so you don't create further harm or injury future injuries to different parts of your feet.

Jeremy: 2:53

And is it safe to say that if you wear orthotics consistently for a long enough time, it can I don't want to say cure, but it can re realign the foot such that you wouldn't need orthotics in the future? Or is it something that you always have to maintain?

Dr. Lauren: 3:11

So it also like, sometimes people have like different deformities of their feet, like a bunion or a flat foot or a high arch foot, and then as we age those things can get worse, as you know you're. You know, as you add more miles on your feet, the more you age. And basically, what the orthotic will do, it'll prevent the wear and tear, the natural wear and tear of a regular foot, for example. So it does prevent that Okay.

Jeremy: 3:48

now, when I was buying my running shoes, they tried to sell me a custom insert which I'm assuming is kind of like an over the counter orthotic, if you will.

Dr. Lauren: 3:57

Custom, that is called a pre-fabricated insert, which also goes by foot size and not by foot type.

Jeremy: 4:06

Okay, so what are some of the primary differences between, say, a custom orthotic and then something like they were trying to sell me at that Cause? It seemed all good and well, I never get me the shoes I put it in, but again it's not customized to my feet, so how effective could it really be?

Dr. Lauren: 4:24

I mean it does help. I sell pre-fabricated orthotics as well. It's just because a custom orthotic you have to get properly casted and fitted and then you have to send it to the orthotic lab and then they make it based on your specifications and I customize it to the patient's foot problem. Prefabs they're great, just you know, cause they are readily available. They're not bad for you. But if you have a very specific foot issue it's not going to fix it unless you customize the insert or orthotic. And that's kind of the limitation of those things that they try to sell you in the store.

Jeremy: 5:08

You know I would have thought that, having been running frequently now with the flat feet that I have, that I'd have more pain and discomfort and problems in my legs. But I gotta say the more I do of this, the better it seems to get in terms of, like, my endurance. What do you mean? What's that? What do you mean? What's?

Jeremy: 5:27

getting I'm not, I guess, maybe because I got better shoes. But I mean, I'm not having any pain in my feet Like, if anything I'm getting, it's getting stronger and I feel like I'm getting better. I guess that's part of the perks of exercising frequently, right, you tend to improve.

Dr. Lauren: 5:43

Oh yeah, 100% yeah. So a lot of times when you run you strengthen a lot of the different muscles and tendons of your foot and that helps you. That actually helps with balance and alignment and things like that. Being active is very important, but at the same time, you should still use the right shoe with the right orthotic device to protect your foot.

Jeremy: 6:09

So what are some enclosing? What are some tips that you can give to listeners to choose the right orthotics or to know whether or not they should just be getting some kind of over the counter insert or if they should actually go to a podiatrist to get their foot?

Dr. Lauren: 6:25

But if you have this is my tip is if you have just like a general foot pain and you're young, you could definitely get one of those over the counter things either in my office or at the runner's store. But if you have pressure points in your foot meaning if someone has like calluses on the ball of their foot or you have like a bunion or you're really, really flat you're probably better off going with a custom orthotic, just because those deformities can be accommodated, meaning we can redistribute the pressure more evenly with the custom orthotic, whereas you can't do that with a prefab. But if you're young and you have a normal foot, you could get those things at the store. I'm not against the call.

Jeremy: 7:23

All right, very, very well.

Dr. Lauren: 7:24

I'm gonna get checked in if you do have pain just to make sure it's nothing else, because you could always get injuries. You can have a stress fracture, you could have a sprain and some type of inflamed tendon tendonitis. So you always wanna make sure that that's not the case. But again, wearing the right shoes with the right inserts and then stretching before and after your workout is all very, very important to preventing injury. Very, very good.

Jeremy: 7:55

As always. Any listeners have any further questions, reach out to Dr D. She's there to help you. So thanks everyone for listening and we will catch you on the next episode of the LMD Pediatry Podcast. Everyone, take care.

Speaker 1: 8:17

Thank you for listening to the LMD Pediatry Podcast. For more information, visit LMDpediatrycom. That's L-M-D-P-O-D-I-A-T-R-Ycom. Call 954-680-7133.