Orthotic material choice for treatment of plantar fasciitis

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Hi Folks,

Without trying to start a discussion on the various add ons and why they work. I would like to know what materials you use in your orthotic.ie not the posts.

I consider that ( we were having some discussion about this on another thread earlier in the week) tension on the plantar fascia is what we are trying to reduce in our treatment option.



I saw somewhere that Lawerence Bevan was saying somewhere that he uses a soft very flexiable shank independent device for Plantar fascia problems with good success.

I am a Poly guy who uses different thickness and flex properties and beleive that it all about being able to control the force causing the increase in tension of the plantar fascia

What materials do you use ?, why do you use those materials? and is this material the material that you use in all of your devices?

Could my hard device be reducing the tension in the plantar fascia but be increasing compression the Plantar fascia and therefore not helping to reduce pain levels ?

hope that makes sense.

if not what material do you make your device out of for your plantar fascia patients and why ? and if you use different material from patient to patient what make you decide on the material ?

 

Hi Michael. Most Podiatrists and Ortho. docs who send me pt.s with a prescription for custom molded foot orthoses are not specific in what they want. It will usually read " semirigid foot orthotics" and have a diagnosis. I always base my decision of what material to use on many factors. How much does pt. way, what is activity level, what type of activity level, am I going to make ortoses my self by vacuum forming or will I send It to a lab and have it milled and how sensitive the pt's. feet may be.

I have seen alot of pt's who state that they have had foot orthoses "in the past" but complained that they are to hard and hurt their feet, even after wearing them for a period of time.

I like to use Poly as well, but usualy don't go thicker than 1/8 or 5/32 on most people. Sometimes I will use 3/16 for much heavier pt.s. Co-Poly ( a combonation between Polypro and polyethylene) is a good choice for pt.s who need a little more "give" in their devices, it works particularly well with UCBL'S.

Hope this helps.



Joe Eads, C.Ped

 

Funny I thought this one would have got a bit of airplay, as plantar fasciitis is one our most common complaints and a device is often used in treatment plans.

In the barefoot running thread there was mention of how leg stiffness may have a role in Plantar fasciitis.

Hi Joe Ive also used Co-Poly with generally good results.