Sports massage and podiatry

RE: Sports massage and podiatry

Hi Stephen,
I am not a big fan of orthotics as previously stated on this forum, I agree that a short term benefit may be gained when combined with remedial massage treatment, but to change long term the biomechanics of a runner for example who previously had no problems before injury occurred seems too aggressive. I would always try to use my skills as a therpist to sort things out and only if no improvement, would refer on.
Regards
Gaz

RE: Sports massage and podiatry

Hello... I agree with Gaz... I'm not a big fan of orthotics, as I feel they treat the symptom, not the cause... in fact, with the Bowen technique (I know that's a different forum, but I do bothBowen & Sports -and the advice works for both) as part of the after care, we instruct our clients to remove any orthotics they have. This is because for example, if the client's got one leg virtually longerthan the other, causing problems at the feet,andwe've done work to level the pelvis, the orthotics are going to push the raised leg up again, preventing the pelvis from straightening itself. Same with the knees, the spine, shoulders andeven the jaw... problems at the feet could be caused by an imbalance at pretty much any of the joints above... so better to correct that cause than treat the feet...

Hope I'm not over-simplifying and "teaching you to suck eggs!"
😀

RE: Sports massage and podiatry

I would certainly agree that manual assessment and therapy should be tried before prescribing orthotics. And I would also suggest that people who are used to walking barefoot as children are less likely to develop the type of biomechanical abnormality that may make orthotics advisable.

To quote from [link= http://www.feetforlife.org/foot_health/sports.html ] http://www.feetforlife.org/foot_health/sports.html [/link] :

“A podiatrist will assess and manage the podiatric needs of the sportsperson and the sport. He may carry out a physical biomechanical assessment, which looks at the way the bones, muscles, and associated structures such as tendons are aligned and interact. He may also look at factors such as stability, body posture and other musculoskeletal factors. He will take into account the type of sport and provide advice on what the patient can do for themselves, such as stretching and strengthening exercises.”

Nevertheless my experience is that there are some runners whose biomechanics are such that they need orthotics in order to continue in their sport. (I have read somewhere that even Seb Coe, whose biomechanics were far better than the average runner, used orthotics in the closing years of his running career.) To quote from ‘Running Injuries’ by Tim Noakes:

“For some runners who pronate excessively a strong anti-pronation shoe choice may not be enough to prevent or cure an injury. Corrective orthotics — arch supports specially made to remedy the individual athlete’s problem — reduce both the total amount of rearfoot pronation and the maximum rate of pronation. ... orthotics can cure running injuries that are caused by excessive subtalar (ankle) joint pronation. ... corrective orthotics made of firm but soft material probably also increase shock absorption and this may also contribute to curing the injury.”

Alan