Why You Should Be Kind To Your Feet (Part 2)
I wrote back in May 2009 about orthotics (inserts in your shoes) which correct the way you walk when the arches of your feet collapse, causing your foot to pronate. Pronation can lead to knee and even back problems if left unattended for too long. I reported back then that I was advised to wear orthotics as I was getting a lot of knee pain during my Karate training.
Having been wearing orthotics for nearly a year, I thought I would report back and share my experience with anybody else who might be having similar problems. Firstly, I have to say having just got back into my Karate training back then after a long time off, I was wondering if I would be able to continue due to the amount of pain that I was getting in my knees. Now almost a year later, I can say that my knees are very much better and training is a lot easier. The orthotics have made a considerable difference.
However, I am still getting some discomfort in my knees, so I decided to see if I could take it further. The orthotics that I was wearing were an off-the-shelf pair. Having consulted a good osteopath and podiatrist, I was told that due to my fallen arches, I was walking slightly knock kneed. This had resulted in the inner thigh muscles becoming weaker. As the knee-joint is largely held in place by the surrounding muscles, when I did any physical activity, the outer thigh muscles would pull the kneecap outwards. To add to this, during normal walking, we are supposed to balance with the small toes and push-off with the big toe, but my big toe joint had become stiff and I was pushing of on the small toes. I’m a mess I thought! And this is after significant improvement in my knees.
As a result I have had a personalised pair of orthotics made. These have an angle of about 4% on the heel, to correct the pronation. They also have a recess under the base of the big toe to make that joint work more and loosen it up.
In the first photo, you can see the raised support for the arch of the foot.
In the second photo you can see the angle on the heel, to correct pronation.
In the third photo you can see the recess at the base of the big toe to make that joint work better.
I would recommend to anybody having similar joint problems to looking into have your own made to measure orthotics made up. It is early days yet, but I will let you know how I get on with them.
