Custom Orthotics for Sports Performance

Custom orthotics may help support foot mechanics, comfort, and stability during sports and exercise when they are recommended after an evaluation.

At Ravenswood Chiropractic in Andersonville, we evaluate how your feet, ankles, knees, hips, and spine work together before deciding whether custom orthotics should be part of your care plan.

For athletes and active individuals, this can be especially important because running, jumping, cutting, and repeated impact place higher demands on the feet and lower body.

Orthotics are not used in isolation. When appropriate, they may be combined with sports injury chiropractic care, movement assessment, and other therapies to support performance and reduce stress on the body.

How to Improve Your Performance with Proper Foot Care

Your feet are a critical component in functional mobility and athletic performance. A basic knowledge of their structure and function is necessary to understand their impact. The foot and ankle complex is a specialized system of bones, joints, ligaments, and muscles that works in shock absorption, weight-bearing stability, and propulsion during your daily activities. These functions are accomplished during the phases of walking called the gait cycle.

The gait cycle includes:

1. Initial contact (heel strike) and the loading response (shock absorption)
2. Mid stance (weight-bearing stability)
3. Terminal stance and toe off (propulsion)

Shock Absorption

Shock absorption is an important part of the loading response as your swinging foot contacts the ground. During the swing phase, the muscle along your shin, the tibialis anterior, contracts to hold your foot up allowing the ball of your foot to clear the ground. Your foot is slightly rigid as your heel strikes, but it relaxes slightly and naturally rolls inward into pronation to accommodate the force. As your body weight shifts over your foot, the ball of your foot contacts the ground causing the force to spread across the arch of your foot further assisting in shock absorption.

Weight-Bearing Stability

Weight-bearing stability is an essential part of mobility because it allows you to balance on one leg as your other leg leaves the ground. This is called the stance phase (or mid-stance) and it is a quick, but important stage. It occurs when the heel and the ball of your foot are on the ground together. When this happens, the mid foot begins to drop toward the ground placing stress across the arch of the foot. This force is controlled by the plantar fascia and surrounding muscles much like a leaf spring in the suspension of a car. During mid-stance, your body’s balance mechanisms contribute to weight-bearing stability. One of these mechanisms called proprioception, is a sensory system that detects the foot and ankle position, then sends signals to the brain to control muscle firing to maintain balance.

Propulsion

Propulsion occurs as a result of increasing tension followed by forceful muscle contraction. It begins as your body mass continues to move forward and tension builds in the Achilles tendon and the arch of the foot. As the tension increases, the joints of the foot move into a “locked” position. The force transitions to the outer edge of the foot as it rolls outward into supination. This motion creates a rigid lever (your foot) that allows you to push off of the ball of your foot with greater force. The tension in the plantar fascia creates a “windlass effect” as the heel lifts off of the ground. This windlass effect combined with muscle contraction generates significant force to propel you forward.

The success of this system relies on structural integrity and mechanical efficiency. Even small changes in the system can affect performance, including speed, power, and balance. Injuries, weakness, and poor motor control lead to impaired functional mobility and poor performance. Conversely, improvements in strength, motor control, and biomechanics can dramatically increase performance. The first step is identification of any impairments by a qualified specialist using appropriate assessment tools.

The Role of the Selective Functional Movement Assessment

The Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA) is a movement-based assessment used to evaluate seven fundamental movement patterns. This tool provides a structured way to assess mobility, stability, motor control, and coordination. Certified SFMA clinicians, such as Dr. Renn, complete specialized training in movement patterns, altered motor control, neurodevelopmental components, and how different regions of the body work together. These assessments help us better understand how movement limitations or compensations may be contributing to symptoms or performance limitations. Based on these findings, care can be directed toward the areas that need the most support. This may include corrective exercises, postural training, and education in body mechanics. While SFMA can be useful for many patients, it is especially relevant for athletes and active individuals because movement quality plays an important role in performance and load management. Supporting the function of the lower extremities, particularly the feet and ankles, is an important part of this process. When appropriate, custom orthotics may also be included as part of a broader care plan to support foot mechanics.  This information helps guide decisions about care, including whether custom orthotics, chiropractic adjustments, or movement-based rehab should be included.

Using Custom Foot Orthotics

Custom foot orthotics may be used to improve the three main functions of the foot and ankle complex. They may provide improved weight-bearing stability and propulsion, while allowing for shock absorption. This need is magnified for athletes. The forces sustained and transmitted in your feet are multiplied during activities like running and jumping. These forces can be several times your body weight with each step. To be effective, orthotics must be properly calibrated to your weight, foot flexibility, and activity level. Most orthotics require the same biomechanical control and function, but different sports and athletes require different properties and materials to improve performance. The use of custom foot orthotics is not limited to people with current injuries. Orthotics may be used proactively to correct mechanical inefficiencies in foot and ankle function that could lead to overuse injuries including shin splints, Achilles tendinitis, plantar fasciitis, and IT band syndrome.

Maintaining proper foot function is vital to your mobility and athletic performance. Whether you have an injury or are looking for a way to improve your performance, specialized assessment tools, such as the SFMA, and custom foot orthotics can be effective ways to achieve your goals. The keys to success are an assessment by a qualified clinician and the appropriate use of custom foot orthotics that take into account the demands of the modern athlete.

Performance is influenced by many factors, including strength, mobility, coordination, training load, and recovery. Custom orthotics are one tool that may be used to support foot mechanics as part of a broader performance and injury management strategy.

Call 773.878.7330 and Speak to One of our Expert Team Members Today or Request An Appointment Online for Your Foot and Ankle Sports Evaluation.