Everybody is different, and nowhere is this more true than with our feet.

You may not ever think of them unless they’re aching from a long day or have been squeezed into a particularly ill-fitting pair of shoes, but the health of your feet can have a tremendous impact on the rest of your body.

Unfortunately, instead of looking after our hard-working feet, we squeeze them into off-the-shelf shoes or – if we’re feeling generous – ease their pain with a pair of insoles.

By the time we realise this isn’t enough, our neglected feet may have caused problems elsewhere in the body. You may not expect it, but imbalances in your feet can exacerbate or even cause a range of conditions, from shin splints and knee pain to back and even neck pain.

The weakest link

So how can a bit of wonkiness in the feet be contributing to a bad back when they’re nowhere near each other? The answer is due to what’s called the kinetic chain, which describes how the joints all the way up and down your body affect one another as you move.

If your ankle is misaligned, then your knee might be too, which in turn might throw off your hips, your spine and your neck. Every part of your body relies on another to be in the correct position, and sometimes the site of pain is nowhere near the cause.

You literally need to pay attention to your body from the ground up, and if we have reason to believe your feet are a weak link in your kinetic chain, then orthotics (custom-moulded supportive insoles) can be very helpful.

Orthotics provide the precise support that your feet need to correct your gait. They can be inserted into any shoe, but you’ll get the best results by using them in the shoes you wear most regularly; the office shoes you wear for ten or more hours a day have more of an impact on your foot health than the running shoes you wear for 20 minutes.

Smart tech for happy feet

We can provide bespoke orthotics thanks to our Gaitscan machine, which is a flat mat full of sensors that tracks the pressure of your foot as you walk across it.

This creates a scan that looks like a heat map, showing exactly where your foot contacts the ground and with how much force, allowing us to precisely diagnose imbalances.

For example, without realising it, you may be putting more force on one foot than the other, perhaps as a result of an injury you sustained years ago. Or you might have an unstable foot that slips inwards with every step, putting excess pressure on your ankle and inner knee as you walk.

We can then send off your Gaitscan data to The Orthotic Group who create a pair of custom orthotics moulded perfectly to your feet and designed to correct any issues that have been identified. By combining orthotics with any other prescribed manual therapy or exercises, we can get you back on your feet and loving it.

If during your initial assessment a pair of custom orthotics costs are advised, the price for your first pair is £260, and comes with a lifetime guarantee, giving you replacement pairs if they ever wear out. Additional orthotics cost £150 each.

To book your Gaitscan appointment, contact us now at  enquiries@physiolondon.co.uk or 020 7093 3499, and I’m always happy to answer any questions you have about foot health and orthotics.

Jody Chappell

MSc BSc MCSP HCPC