Custom Orthotics

For all initial appointments we charge a $80 consultation, where we can openly discuss what is required and the costs involved prior to committing to purchasing orthotics.

The cost for your initial pair of custom made foot orthotics is $595. This includes the following:

• Scanning and modifying
• Fabricating
• Fitting
• Reviews for up to 3 months

If you would like a second pair of foot orthotics identical to your first for convenience or to suit other shoes, they are $395.

If you are uncertain as to whether we can assist with your foot condition, we would recommend coming in for the initial consultation to discuss.

For kids who are growing and changing regularly, we have some “off-the-shelf” options that are more affordable considering they will need to be replaced more regularly.

The structure of our foot orthotics will last almost indefinitely, the shape may begin to change after a couple of years though, so we suggest a review appointment if you feel like you require more support or things have changed.

Top covers which are primarily aesthetic and used for hygiene tend to wear out more quickly and we can recover them for you in one 10-15 minute appointment.

1) Assessment

We will start by asking you about your history and lifestyle, progressing to a thorough assessment of the foot, ankle, knee and hip and some gentle palpation of the affected/painful areas.

Measurements may be taken at this point, particularly joint angles.

We will then conduct a full gait analysis and report in plain terms our assessment and findings and begin to formulate our prescription.

2) Capturing

Based on the assessment, we will capture a physical or digital impression of your foot.

For particularly troublesome feet we will manipulate the foot into a corrected position and take a physical impression and sometimes even cast the feet in the position we need using plaster.

3) Modification

We will create either a plaster or digital representation of your foot and modify accordingly.

This is dependent on the assessment but usually involves increasing the arch height, correcting the hindfoot, offloading any prominent or painful areas and generally correcting the
biomechanics of the foot to resolve the issue you presented with.

This is done by a tertiary-educated professional orthotist who has studied in-depth, lower limb anatomy and biomechanics.

4) Manufacture

Our orthotics are made in Orthotics Plus’ onsite workshop laboratory.

Unlike the vast majority of podiatry groups in Australia, we will never outsource our custom foot orthotics to be made by a central fabrication group. The clinician who assessed your foot will be the clinician who creates your orthoses.

We use high density EVA in our orthotics. This material is more expensive than plastic, increasing our cost of manufacture and the time required, but it has excellent properties which lend to foot orthotics perfectly.

The EVA is either milled by our carving machine into the design created by the orthotist or heated and vacuum formed over the cast in multiple layers to capture the shape required.

5) Fitting

The foot orthotic is then hand finished by the orthotist to fit your shoe and comfortably correct and
support your foot.

After the fitting has been deemed successful, we will generally cover the device with a material (usually fabric, leather or synthetic) for hygiene and aesthetic purposes.

Foot orthotics can be broken into 3 sections and the options available at each segment can be used in combination. The design and features used will depend on your assessment and what we are aiming to achieve.

Here are some common features of a foot orthotic.

Hindfoot
Heel cupping, selective offloading (ie for heel spurs), wedging, height increase (to alter ankle pitch or accommodate for a leg length discrepancy)

Midfoot
Selective offloading (ie plantar fascia grooves), medial arch support, arch control, lateral arch support, transverse arch support

Forefoot
Forefoot wedging, metatarsal domes, selective offloading, metatarsal cut outs, hallux cut outs

The density of the material we use for the device will also vary according to height, weight, age, activity and clinical presentation.

The answer to this question is generally based on these factors:

Pain

If you have a high level of lower limb and foot pain, your pain is worsening, or your foot pain has been persisting for a longer time we may be more inclined to suggest foot orthotics. If your foot pain is low and reducing then we may suggest other options first.

Age

If you are younger and growing, or older and not healing as well or the pain is limiting your mobility foot orthotics may be required.

Biomechanics – An assessment of the structure and function of your foot will assist this decision. If during the assessment and gait analysis we note issues we can immediately address, foot orthotics may be a good option for you. (e.g. hyper mobility, flat feet, very high arched feet, pronated foot posture, bony prominences, painful rigid joints, osteoarthritis, foot structures which cause torsional forces in the foot).

History

What have you done previously? Have you tried other options or changed your footwear recently? Have you recently started training for a marathon? Are you noticing your feet change shape?

The answers to these questions will assist us to determine a course of action. If there are things we can modify in your life such as activity level we will advise accordingly.

Diagnosed conditions

If you have a particular condition which we know responds well to foot orthotics we will be more inclined to suggest foot orthotics as a treatment.

We will ensure your foot orthotics are comfortable. We offer unlimited appointments for 3 months after fitting to solve any fitting and comfort issues.

Our orthotists can adjust the devices on the spot without the orthotics being sent away, so it will not require excess appointments or long wait times to fix issues.

If it is required they are remade due to an error on our behalf, there will be no charge for this.

It’s normal for foot orthotics to require a wearing in period and there to be some discomfort.

This discomfort is generally muscular as patterns are broken and different (often neglected) muscle groups are used. There may also be some light skin rubbing as areas which were previously non-weightbearing take load and the tissue adapts. This is normal. This usually resolves in a short time frame and many people forget they’re even wearing them.

For the cases when issues do not resolve quickly, we will offer unlimited (within reason!) appointments in the following 3 months after prescription until the foot orthotics are deemed satisfactory to you.

We will ensure your foot orthotics are comfortable. We offer unlimited appointments for 3 months after fitting to solve any fitting and comfort issues.

Our Orthotists can adjust the devices on the spot without the orthotics being sent away, so it will not require excess appointments or long wait times to fix issues.

If it is required they are remade due to an error on our behalf, there will be no charge for this.

We never use hard plastics! We manufacture our foot orthotics from EVA. This shock absorbing material is much more comfortable for the foot while still allowing excellent support and control to be built into the orthotic.

We are yet to see a patient prefer a hard plastic foot orthotic over an Orthotics Plus EVA device.

Reasons for the continuing popularity of plastic foot orthotics is they are cheaper and easier to produce and are often made ‘en masse’ at a central location by machine.

At Orthotics Plus we use varying densities of foam EVA as this allows the foot to be supported, while providing the comfortable relieving shock-absorbing values most suited. Many of our older patients need a soft EVA, while our heavier and more athletic patients use a higher density material.

As we don’t outsource to external technicians or manufacturing hubs we can modify the foot orthotics on the spot and customise it to you. This means we can fit the orthotic in nearly all shoes and modify the device without the need for multiple annoying trial and error style appointments.

No. This is a common myth. When used correctly foot orthotics do not ‘take over’ the role of muscles in your feet, leaving them lazy and ineffective.

They correct a biomechanical issue and rebalance and normalise the muscle activity in your feet. Many studies and even a systematic review have found a more normalised muscle activity in patients with a flat foot deformity when using foot orthotics.

When aligned correctly the foot will work more efficiently as the muscles and joints are not at the extreme end range of their possible range of motion. Muscles generally work more efficiently and can produce more strength during the middle of the range of motion of the respective joint they
control.

Additionally, a foot which has a corrected posture will provide a better and efficient structure for human gait during running, walking or sports.

Many elite athletes wear foot orthotics and we regularly see athletes to assist with their chosen sports.

Foot orthotics maybe a piece of the puzzle but are rarely the entire solution. We will discuss all the other factors which have contributed to the pain or issue and advise as such.

This may be better selection of footwear, behavioural modifications and lifestyle modifications just to name a few.

We may also prescribe a lower limb stretching and strengthening regime where indicated to assist with the orthotic management and support your recovery, particularly in the case of plantar fasciitis.

When required we will refer you to a specialist if it is outside of our scope of practice. i.e. dietary
advice or surgical intervention.

We don’t believe in hard plastic foot orthotics for the reasons below:

Plastic reduces mobility

The foot is a mobile structure with many joints and the body’s primary shock absorber. We don’t want to take away the mobility of the foot as we are likely to create other problems higher up the chain. Using a dense foam/EVA allows the foot to continue to be a shock absorber whilst correcting biomechanics.

Plastic orthotics are painful

Many patients find them to be unforgiving and painful, requiring a long wearing in period and can be the cause of many issues. We regularly see patients in our clinic with previously made hard plastic foot orthotics complaining of bruises and even blood blisters from stepping on the sharp heel cup of the plastic foot orthotics.

Plastic is difficult to modify

Hard plastic foot orthotics are difficult to modify by the clinician during the appointment. This may lead to the incorrect prescription or an uncomfortable device being encouraged to be kept as the re-manufacturing process is time consuming and potentially expensive.

Plastic will wear quickly

The covers of hard plastic foot orthotics generally wear very quickly as they are guillotined between the foot and a hard plastic shell. Even when topped with foam for softness, we find this material disintegrates within a few months, requiring repair or most commonly the patient just ends up walking on a hard plastic base with no cover.

The human foot is made up of 26 bones, 33 joints and over 100 tendons, ligaments and muscles.

This structure is remarkable in its function, however, things do go wrong. The result may be acute pain, inefficient biomechanics, stress injuries, chronic issues or bad posture of the foot leading to ankle, knee, hip and back pain amongst other problems.

Some patients with knee osteoarthritis find foot orthotics and suitable footwear will reduce some pain in their knees as the ground reaction force is shifted to the less damaged region of their knee.