Flat Feet/Fallen Arches/Pronation

Pronation is the process by which you shift your weight from the outside of your foot to the inside. As your heel hits the ground, your foot has a rolling in motion, thereby flattening out your foot. This rolling in, pronation, may also affect your sciatic nerve due to the drop of the knee and hip.

Whether you have a true flat foot or have a normal arch but suffer from over-pronation (like 70% of the population) in both cases your poor walking pattern may contribute to a range of different complaints. Especially with age, poor alignment of the feet will cause very common conditions such as Heel Pain or Knee Pain.

Over-pronation has different causes. Obesity, pregnancy, age or repetitive pounding on a hard surface can weaken the arch leading to over-pronation. Over-pronation is also very common with athletes, especially runners and most of them nowadays use orthotics inside their shoes.

Wearing the Step Right Corrective Orthotic over time can help strengthen the muscle structure and help build the arch back into your feet. Remember, arches are muscle.

Thickening of the skin, usually located on the bottom of the foot, causes Calluses. Misalignment of the arches can cause friction or rubbing against the skin causing hardening of the skin and the accumulation of dead skin. Calluses on the ball of the foot can be due to metatarsal heads collapsing. Skin around the heel area can become thick and start to crack.

Calluses usually develop on the sole, either on the heel or under the metatarsal heads. These areas typically bear most of the pressure from standing and walking. As calluses thicken, additional pressure against the skin may cause pain. Calluses also can form nucleated skin lesions underneath bony prominences on the plantar surface of the foot. These areas also can be very painful.

Calluses usually indicate a structural problem that causes excessive pressure and friction between the skin and underlying bone. This often occurs in people who have flatfeet (pes planus) because the arch is too low and the foot is unstable.

Wearing the Step Right Corrective Orthotic will support the bone structure of the foot and take pressure off the heel. By taking your weight off your bone structure and placing the foot over a proper support, our orthotic will help build up the muscle structures and help place the bone structure back into alignment. Over time, the calluses will be greatly relieved or go away.

Plantar Neuroma (Morton's neuroma) occurs in a nerve in your foot, often between your third and fourth toes. The condition involves a thickening of the tissue around one of the nerves leading to your toes. Plantar neuroma causes a sharp, burning pain in the ball of your foot. Your toes also may sting, burn or feel numb .The nerves between the toes get pinched and tissue develops around the nerve. Wearing the Step Right Corrective Orthotic will take the pressure off the pinched nerve by supporting the metatarsal arch which will free space between the toes. Many runners and skaters develop neuromas due to heavy forefoot pressure.

Bunions (hallux valgus) are often described as a bump on the side of the big toe. The visible bump reflects changes in the bony framework of the front part of the foot. With a bunion, the big toe leans toward the second toe, rather than pointing straight ahead. This throws the bones out of alignment, producing the bunion's "bump."

Most bunions are behind the point of the large toe on the large metatarsal bone. "Bunionettes" are behind the little toe (the outside of the foot). Misaligned arches are usually the cause of bunions from pronation or supination.

Bunions are a progressive disorder. They begin with a leaning of the big toe, gradually changing the angle of the bones over the years and slowly producing the characteristic bump, which continues to become increasingly prominent. Excessive pressure in the joint area will build up fluid and tissue inflammation in the bursa sac. The joint will build up calcium deposit in the area. Wearing high heels and shoes with tight toe boxes will exacerbate the problem.

Using the Step Right Corrective Orthotic products will help re-align the foot by supporting the three arches and taking pressure off the ball of the foot. Wearing shoes that have room in the toe box will help to relieve pressure or rubbing in the area.

Plantar Fasciitis is caused by misaligned arches and hard impact to the heel of the foot. Pronation or supination can cause pulling or stretching of the ligaments which can cause microfiber tears or inflamations.

When a person has plantar fasciitis, the plantar fascia becomes inflamed and degenerative (worn out)--these abnormalities can make normal activities quite painful. Symptoms typically worsen early in the morning after sleep. At that time, the plantar fascia is tight so even simple movements stretch the contracted plantar fascia. Heel pain usually caused by inflammation, tearing of a long band of connective tissue running from the heel to the ball of the foot is associated with this condition. As you begin to loosen the plantar fascia, the pain usually subsides, but often returns with prolonged standing or walking.

Due to walking on hard surfaces over the years, our muscle structure weakens, the bone structure collapses, and ligaments and tendons can dry up due to decreased blood flow. Wearing the Step Right Corrective Orthotic can help you build up the muscle structure and increase circulation, thereby sending an increase of red blood cells, oxygen and nutrients to the area of the tear. By supporting the bone structure, pressure is relieved from the heel.

Most comely found in runners, shin splints are the general name given to pain at the front of the lower leg, pain on either side of the shinbone. Often associated with excessive foot pronation and impact on hard surface. This can lead to mircotears in the muscle and bone tissue.

The Step Right Corrective Orthotic is designed to correct biomechanical dysfunction and will help alleviate the pain of shin splints. Wearing our Step Right products help to increase circulation, increase balance and alignment issues.