PAC Blog
Behind the Scenes of Custom Foot Orthotics
If you are experiencing foot or lower limb pain, your doctor may refer you to a Canadian Certified Pedorthist for custom foot orthotics to help support and align your feet and improve how they function. Like prescription eye glasses custom foot orthotics are made specifically for your unique needs. Although foot orthotics look like simple devices, one pair of custom orthotics can take a Pedorthist two to five hours to make. Here’s an overview of how foot orthotics are made. […]
What are Orthopaedic Shoes and Do I Need Them?
Supportive, well-fitting footwear plays a vital role in keeping people mobile and pain free. However wearing appropriate shoes is sometimes not enough for people with certain foot conditions and foot types. If you have foot problems such as foot deformites, toe deformities, a complicated or severe foot injury, extremely wide bunions, an open sore, or a neurological disease that affects your feet you may require orthopaedic shoes. You may be asking, “what are orthopaedic shoes?” […]
Magic Behind Modified Shoes
Canadian Certified Pedorthists have many tools to improve patients’ mobility and comfort, including orthotics, supportive footwear and orthopaedic shoes. But for patients with certain foot types and conditions these tools may not be sufficient. These patients may require shoes that are modified or altered to exactly meet the shape and requirements of their feet and lower limbs. […]
The Myths About Foot Orthotics
Foot orthotics are one of the most effective tools Canadian Certified Pedorthists use to relieve and prevent foot and lower limb pain. These small medical devices fit discreetly into patients’ shoes to help support and align their feet. Foot orthotics can be purchased off-the-shelf or be custom made by a Pedorthist to meet a patient’s specific biomechanical needs and foot condition. […]
If Your Feet Hurt, Take a Look at Your Shoes
In the ten years that I have been working as a Pedorthist the biggest challenge I continue to face is convincing patients to change their footwear. On the flip side, my most rewarding moments over the years have been watching patients make better footwear choices once they realize the benefits well-fitted, supportive shoes can bring. […]
Fitting Children’s Shoes
If your child isn’t a budding young fashionista, chances are back-to-school shopping in your home is met with cries of resistance. Although selecting and purchasing clothes for resistant young shoppers to try on at home is a great solution, make it clear when it comes to shoe shopping, a trip to the shoe store is non-negotiable. […]
Team Approach to Diabetic Foot Care
I often get asked what I like best about my career as a Pedorthist. While there are many things I enjoy, particularly interacting with clients and problem solving, the most enjoyable part of my career is being a member of a healthcare team. As a foot expert I work in collaboration with podiatrists, wound care nurses, endocrinologists and family doctors, to improve the quality of patients’ lives. Within my own clinic, I also work as a team with my pedorthic colleagues and we regularly share learning experiences, insights, and consult [...]
Do You Have Jimmy Choo Pain?
Did you ever see the episode of “Sex and the City” where Carrie gets fitted with custom made orthotics to ease the pain from Morton’s neuroma? OK…it never happened, but if Carrie was a real person, chances are it would have, as high heels – Carrie’s trademark fashion choice – are a common cause of this painful condition. […]
Don’t Think Your Foot Pain is Forever – A Pedorthist Can Help
A few years ago, I noticed a gentleman hobbling around our Halifax shoe store. I noticed he was trying an assortment of shoes that would be of no benefit to him so I approached him and suggested he speak to his family doctor about coming in for an assessment. He was encouraged by our conversation but he was still convinced there was no way to fix what he described as his “tick tock” leg. […]
All Sandals Aren’t Created Equal
It may be fashionable to wear flimsy, lightweight flip flops during the summer but unfortunately many of the popular styles are not good for your feet. If you are soaking up the sun on a cottage dock or a backyard deck, a pair of soft flip flops are fine but if you are doing a lot of walking you should be more selective about your sandals. […]
Misconceptions and Facts About Heel Pain
Heel pain is one of the most common foot conditions I treat in my clinic every day. Surprisingly, it is also one of the conditions patients have the most misconceptions about – both its cause and its treatment. Many patients believe heel pain is associated with a bone spur when, in fact, heel pain has a variety of causes including: being overweight, poor foot mechanics, a change in activity levels, wearing improper footwear, aging, trauma and even poor ground conditions. One of the difficulties in treating heel pain is that [...]
If You Have Foot Pain Don’t Delay – Orthotics Can Help
This January, a 53-year-old male patient visited my office after living with pain and discomfort following the surgical removal of a Morton’s Neuroma from his left foot 12 months earlier. A Morton’s Neuroma is an injury to the nerve that gives sensation to two adjacent toes, typically the 3rd and 4th toes. When the nerve between the toes becomes aggravated and compressed, it causes severe pain at the base of the toes and the ball of the foot, sometimes causing pins and needles in the toes. The post-surgical pain was affecting all [...]