Plantar Fasciitis Orthotics

The prescription and use of orthotics is a hot topic. Using foot orthotics is not natural, and should not be used to correct a problem, but to throw money away. Based on an understanding of the human body (not just the foot), that those who wear orthotics are suffering from compromised health and those who prescribe them are not restoring their patient's health to its fullest potential.

An orthotic is a support device meant to either control motion or change foot function, and therefore the function of other areas of the body. Orthotics may serve a very temporary purpose to help a person overcome acute pain and discomfort, but anything more than short term use will only harm the wearer.

A healthy person does not need an orthotic. The inception of orthotics into the medical community is to help the financial security of the physician, as well as to have the patient assume the problem is being treated. Problem is, the patients don't know that this is just symptomatic relief and not treating the root of the problem.

One can see that whatever the case, an orthotic is not the ideal treatment--addressing the root cause is. Figuring out that root cause and working through it can sometimes take a very long time, which is not something most physicians have the time to do. Many, for that reason, resort to orthotics to treat the symptomatic issues and not the cause of the problem.

Orthotics will always support a dysfunction. If they were supporting a normal function then they would not be necessary because the function would be restored in the first place. The term "functional orthotic" is an idiosyncrasy. There is nothing functional about controlling motion. If an imbalance appears to be restored with an orthotic, it is only an appearance.