The design of orthopedic shoes is based on the pathological changes in the foot, lower leg or thigh. These are shoes with a special shape and construction.
They are made to compensate for lost functions in patients with deformities and functional deficiency of the feet. Note the word “compensation.”
These special shoes are custom-made only by a doctor, after a thorough examination and taking the patient’s specific problem into account. It is simply not possible to buy them in a regular store or an orthopedic shop.
1About high-backed shoes and arch-support insoles
The higher the heel counter (the back of the shoe), the more it restricts movement; combined with a rigid sole, it restricts the rolling motion of the foot.
In young children, a thick fat pad sits exactly where an arch-support insole presses. The bone that forms the medial arch has not yet ossified and is still made of cartilage. So the idea that any arch-support insole could influence the formation of the arch is odd, to say the least — it is simply pressing on a fat pad.
Valgus and flat feet in children cannot be prevented or corrected with shoes. In children with these problems, the muscles do work — they simply do not do it quite correctly or strongly enough. The problem needs to be corrected, not compensated for: through free MOVEMENT.
Using orthopedic shoes and arch-support insoles before the age of 6 restricts movement in the foot, slows natural muscle and skeletal development and disrupts the child’s correct walking pattern.
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Sources and further reading
- Baby development — NHS (Böyük Britaniya)
- NHS Start for Life — guide for ages 0–5 — NHS (Böyük Britaniya)