Blog Post

Custom made versus "off the shelf" insoles

Benn Boshall • 31 January 2022

Our top tips on Custom versus off the shelf insoles & why your feet will thank you, if you seek professional help

Our top tips on Custom versus off the shelf insoles & why your feet will thank you, if you seek professional help by Benn Boshell

Custom made insoles and off the shelf insoles (both often referred to as orthotics) are frequently used to treat a wide range of foot and ankle conditions.

Off the shelf insoles are widely available in local shops as well as literally hundreds of different options available online. But with so many options on shape, design, and material it can become a minefield knowing what may be suitable for you and your needs.

Custom made insoles, on the other hand, are prescribed by podiatrists specifically for your individual needs. The key difference between custom and off the shelf is the prescription. This is similar to having a prescription for medication such as dosage and frequency or for reading glasses. The prescribing podiatrist determines which design and material will be most suitable for you and how much correction to build into the device to improve your foot function and resolve your foot pain.

Whilst it is true that off the shelf insoles may be adequate for some people and help improve their pain, there are still many occasions when off the shelf insoles just aren't enough and this is something we see routinely in clinic, as most of our patients with foot pain have already tried an off the shelf insole prior to coming to see us. One of the most common reasons for the insoles not helping is that they have not been designed to help with the patient’s unique condition. For example, an insole designed to help with heel pain will be vastly different to an insole designed to help with pain in the ball of the foot. Additionally, the shape of our feet including alignment, arch height and length and foot width varies hugely from one person to another.

So which should you go for? Custom made or off the shelf?

Our advice is to see a podiatrist before attempting to self diagnose and subsequently self treat. Your podiatrist will be able to advise you on whether custom made insoles are necessary or whether off the shelf insoles would be a perfectly reasonable alternative. Over the years what we have found is that we get more consistent and better treatment responses from custom made insoles versus off the shelf insoles.

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What is Therapeutic Laser?

by Lucy Donnelly • 15 October 2024

What is therapeutic laser? And how does it work? Therapeutic laser uses the power of light to reduce pain, inflammation and swelling as well as to encourage your body’s own healing mechanisms. It’s great for treating a huge range of problems including tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, wounds, bursitis, muscle tears and injuries. Laser can be used on both chronic (long term) and acute (recent) conditions. My 2 most recent successes that have totally stunned me as to how well they responded were a chronic back pain giving sciatic pain in the leg and an acute knee anterior cruciate ligament rupture. Both very different conditions where we used different layered settings, but both responded incredibly well and only needed up to 3 treatments. We have had our laser machine for 18 months now and I've only had 2 patients wish to stop their treatments due to limited benefits... most are keen to have the full course of 6 treatments or more. Laser therapy involves directing light energy into inflamed or damaged tissue to accelerate the body's natural healing process. The laser is placed in direct contact with the skin which enables specific wavelengths of light to penetrate the tissue and interact with molecules within the cells to cause several biochemical effects. One of the most important effects of laser therapy is encouraging blood flow into the area being treated. This means the cells there have a better supply of oxygen and nutrients and that waste products and swelling can be flushed out. Laser helps to reduce pain by slowing down the speed of the pain messages in nerves and it reduces inflammation by lowering the number of cells promoting the inflammatory process in the area treated. After laser treatment muscles are better able to relax and movement can become easier as a result. The treatment is painless, non-invasive and offers a drug free alternative to anti-inflammatories, pain killers and steroid injections. If you’re interested in how laser treatment could help you, please get in touch for more information 01242 673507 or mail@villageclinic.co.uk