The Orthotic

Our custom orthotics are the culmination of 25 years of research.  Weighing an average of 1.5 ounces, they are the lightest, most supportive orthotics in the field.

Flat walking surfaces such as the sidewalks, streets and concrete floors we are all required to walk on are the opposite of softer, undulating terrain and are one of the greatest hazards to the foot.

Flat surfaces force your feet to approach the ground in exactly the same way, step after step, year after year, thereby ‘loading’ pressure on the heel, arches and metatarsal heads.

Undulating terrain offers a twofold benefit to the foot.  First, it gives the foot the proper exercise it needs for longevity by offering the foot and ankle constant variation with each step.  Second, walking on undulating terrain avoids pressure buildup in any one location on the bottom (plantar) surface of the foot.

 An orthotic is only as functional as the shoe it goes into.  In order for an orthotic to be truly functional, the space and platform for the orthotic must be calculated and allowed for in the design and fabrication of the shoe, itself. Also, if the shoe and it’s footbed are not level and stable, the orthotic will rock from side to side, making it unstable as well.  At this level orthotics are, at the very least, dangerous to the patient and contrary to resolving the disorder at hand, they only exacerbate the foot problem.   In the United States the public is told that their orthotics will fit into any shoe.  You experience grim reality when you try to put these objects into a shoe that does not even have enough space for your foot. The orthotic must be built in to the shoe and must be thought of as a integral to the total shoe.  Each orthotic must stay with it’s own shoe.

Materials are extremely important in the application of orthotics.  At our facility we fabricate and dispense only accommodative orthotics.  Resilient materials are chosen based on each patient’s need or foot disorder.  Rigid orthotics are simply too hard and often cause more problems than they manage, such as plantar fascitiis and heel spurs. Resilient materials also allow your foot to participate in the completed orthotic.  This is part of the revolutionary, new concept of Euro-Pedorthics.  Remember, your foot is amorphous and changes shape with each phase of the gait cycle.  If the orthotic is too rigid and unyielding, your foot cannot perform it’s natural work.

At Goodhart Shoes and Foot Care we manufacture and administer orthotics with care, to provide the real, full contact support you deserve.  Nothing feels better to your feet!