PAC Blog
Considerations for Exercise Changes
A new year can mean making changes to your exercise routine. When making changes, this can be starting up exercise all together, or it can be other changes such as: Trying a new activity Increasing how many days you exercise per week Increasing the duration of each exercise session Increasing the weight you are using When making changes to your exercise, there are a few considerations to keep in mind to prevent pain from developing. About 40-60% of people will drop their new years resolution for exercise in the first [...]
Compression hosiery can help tired, achy legs
Compression stockings are an important item to help keep you active and potentially be pain free. If your feet and legs are tired and swollen at the end of the day, these may be a help to you. They are used to treat swelling in the legs and feet as well as improving circulation in legs with varicose veins. If you have heavy, fatigued legs or swollen feet and ankles at the end of a long day of sitting or standing don’t dismiss your discomfort or assume you have to [...]
Shoe Tips for the Holiday Season
The month of December can be change to your weekly routines, which can mean a change to your shoes. You could be spending more time on your feet when shopping and cooking, in the house more often in your slippers or barefoot, or at parties in your dress shoes you bring out a few times a year. Even if one instance doesn’t seem like a problem for your feet, it can add up over time and lead to pain by the end of the month. Especially if you plan to [...]
What to Expect From Your Pedorthic Assessment
For your first appointment with a Canadian Certified Pedorthist, there are a fewthings you need to bring: A prescription from your doctor for foot orthotics A pair of your most often worn footwear. By looking at the wear pattern at the top, bottom and insole inside of your shoes, this tells us how you walk and wear down your shoes Wear loose clothing or shorts because we will be examining your feet and lower limbs […]
How long does it take to get used to orthotics?
Every day I see individuals with a wide range of conditions, from very simple and straightforward to very complicated, involving a wide scope of medical practitioners. I also see patients who have never had orthotics to individuals who are being assessed for their tenth pair of orthotics. The most common question I hear during an appointment is “How long does it take to get used to orthotics”. Unfortunately this is never an easy question, nor a straight forward question, to answer as everybody adjusts to orthotics in their own time. [...]
What happens to your feet as you get older?
Have your feet grown as you get older? Your feet can change in shoe size, but the structures haven’t grown. As we age, numerous changes happen to our bodies our hair goes grey, or just goes. We slow down a little with the years. Aches and pains develop in places we never knew we had. The feet are no exception. What are these changes and how can we help to alleviate the problems they very well may cause? The feet are enormously complicated pieces of biological engineering. Each foot contains [...]
Foot Tips for Halloween
Trick or treat, let’s take care of our feet! Halloween is an exciting time for all ages. It’s a time to dress up, let loose, and enjoy some goodies. Below are a few tricks to ensure that your feet feel like a “treat” during your Halloween outings! Below we will outline a few tips and ‘tricks’ for both adult and kid Halloween goers. Kids Wear supportive and appropriate footwear. Trick or treating comes with plenty of steps as you go from house-to-house collecting goodies. As the evening turns to dark you want [...]
Developing a flat foot as an adult (Posterior tibialis tendon dysfunction)
Adult acquired flatfoot is a foot and ankle condition that affects adults. It can be a debilitating condition that can be treated non-surgically with braces, orthotics and other devices. What is adult acquired flatfoot? Adult acquired flatfoot is a very common condition that affects both male and female adult feet and ankles. The arch of the foot falls or collapses in people with adult acquired flatfoot. It is a painful and sometimes incapacitating condition. However, braces, orthotics, and other non-surgical treatments can usually help with a painful flatfoot. Adult [...]
Foot Pain Is Optional
I believe foot pain is largely optional! This may seem like an unusual and unfair statement to make, particularly as I spend my days counselling and treating patients who are suffering from foot pain so let me explain. Foot pain can be very severe and debilitating and it can be experienced by people of all ages. However, in the vast majority of cases, foot pain can be eliminated or eased. The primary reason people live with foot pain is because they delay treatment, either because they mistakenly believe the pain [...]
High arches and Shoes
Feet with high arches are a special foot in a number of ways. There are a few tricks to ensure you are wearing the right foot for your high arch! Shoe Style Feet with higher arches may be harder to find shoes that the foot will fit in. Simple slip-on shoes are the most obvious ones that will not fit. There will need to be some adjustability of the shoe for the foot to slide in comfortably. Laced shoes are a better bet for feet of this kind than [...]
Suffering From Back and Knee Pain? Visit a Pedorthist
This spring a 30-year-old, female patient came to see me for an assessment in my Kingston clinic because she was suffering back pain and sciatica from a herniated disc. In the past, the young woman had been able to control her pain by walking but the pain in her knees and back had become so severe she could no longer walk more than 10 to 15 minutes at a time. When I met with her she was experiencing serious discomfort because she was unable to walk long enough to control [...]
Pedorthic Association Of Canada 2023 Annual Symposium A Success
WINNIPEG, MB: The Pedorthic Association of Canada (PAC), a national, non-profit organization whose main mandate is to develop and promote the study, practice, and knowledge of pedorthics in Canada, recently hosted its annual symposium. The event took place April 13-15, 2023, in Niagara Falls, Ontario, and was attended by upwards of 200 registrants. With more than 650 members across the nation, the Pedorthic Association of Canada—which is managed by a volunteer board of directors—has helped the Canadian practice and profession of pedorthics to grow substantially over the past 15 [...]