Experienced athletes and beginners alike usually depend a great deal on healthy feet for their performance.
While regular exercise is good for your health, repetitive efforts can wear out your lower limbs faster.
If you want to curb the premature deterioration of your feet and legs, foot orthoses are a worthy solution to consider.
Here are 4 benefits of orthotics for athletes.
1. They help improve athletic performance
Amateur athletes often pay a good buck for their footwear, only to end up not realizing their full potential.
With foot orthoses, athletes with foot problems can finally tap into the areas of performance that are usually inaccessible to them.
While they don’t perform miracles, well-fitted orthotics can definitely help achieve biomechanical coordination.
Various aspects of athletic performance can benefit from the use of foot orthoses.
Here are some benefits of implementing them into your athletic practice:
- Better shock absorption;
- Less energy loss;
- Smoother movements;
- Enhanced propulsion;
- Muscles tiring less quickly.
However, it is important to consult your podiatrist before purchasing orthotic insoles.
They will be able to determine the source of your discomfort and your biomechanical deficiencies, before casting an impression of the arch of your foot.
2. They help reduce the risk of injury
While no one is ever safe from foot trauma, athletes are naturally at a much higher risk.
Furthermore, the following injuries and pathologies are more common among those who participate in sports that rely heavily on the use of legs and feet:
- Osteoarthritis
- Stress fractures
- Metatarsalgia
- Exostoses of the foot
- Cracks in the heel
- Plantar fasciitis
- Achilles tendinitis
- Arthritis of the foot
Some of these injuries may be due to preexisting plantar deformities such as flatfoot or cavus foot.
Orthotics thus play an important role in stabilizing such a foot and helping reduce the risk of injury.
3. They offer personalized support
Thanks to the continued improvement in custom plantar shaping techniques, we can now benefit from several options for custom orthotic fitting.
Of course, you can always opt for over-the-counter orthotic insoles. However, if you intend to use them in sports, it can be a risky purchase.
Prefabricated orthotics designed to fit a generic arch are much less suitable than their clinically molded counterparts.
By choosing personalized orthotic insoles, you are providing your feet with a responsive sole that is tailored to your specific plantar morphology.
However, it is important to ensure that these are prescribed by a qualified professional, such as a podiatrist.
4. They are sturdy and easy to maintain
One might think the orthotics wear out quickly, being in direct contact with the foot,
However, with proper maintenance, they can easily last you many years!
All you have to do is follow these few basic rules:
- Take the orthoses out of your shoes after sports activities.
- Clean the orthoses thoroughly with soapy water, without immersing it in water.
- Let both your shoes and your orthoses air dry.
- Make sure that the inside of the shoe is properly cleaned before you insert the orthoses once more.
- Avoid exposing the orthoses to high temperatures or UV radiation.
To ensure that your soles always fit the shape of your feet, be sure to regularly visit your podiatrist.
This specialist will be able to detect any changes in your body type by using technologies such as posture assessment and 3D scanning.
PiedReseau: a benchmark of podiatry for athletes
Foot orthoses are an efficient way to remain active despite foot deformities.
PiedReseau regularly helps athletes acquire custom orthotics, through its network of some forty podiatry clinics all over Quebec.
Don’t let foot pain interfere with your sports routine, contact a PiedReseau clinic.
