The ideal footprint often does not include the medial arch. The force of our body weight each step we take starts from the plantar heel, proceeds distally along the lateral midfoot foot, across the metatarsal heads and out the toes, primarily the great toe. So why are arch supports so popular?
It seems this question is largely rhetorical, there is no one correct answer. Any panel of foot experts will likely offer various opinions, perhaps consensus will be reached, or perhaps, not. Our Root model orthotic devices are designed to control motion primarily in the rearfoot and forefoot, during initial contact phase and during propulsive phase of gait. Midstance, when an arch support would be primarily effective in controlling pronatory forces, is a somewhat secondary consideration. Sometimes it helps to place a contoured firm support under the Talo-Navicular, Naviculo-Cuneiform and Cuneiform-Metatarsal joints, sometimes it doesn’t. The medial arch is the location of more skin irritation due to friction and pressure from a rigid orthotic than any other area of the foot. The medial arch functions much like a leaf spring, it flattens and elongates and then has to re-shape as the foot re-supinates entering the early propulsive phase. Does supplying arch support enhance this or impair this function? Does increasing the weight bearing surface of the plantar foot increase proprioception, and therefore improve functionality, or does it weaken the soft tissue structures of the medial arch?
These open ended questions, and others, on this subject, are worth discussion. My contribution will be this little pearl: When in doubt about how much arch fill should be added to your neutral impression, have the medial arch of the frame lowered anywhere from 1.5 mm to 4.5 mm and substitute a Scaphoid pad to provide a soft support of the medial arch instead.
The team at KevinRoot Medical will always “support” you!
