Accurate positioning of a patient’s foot with the subtalar joint neutral and midtarsal joint pronated has been the standard for obtaining precision impressions for Root Functional Orthoses for over 60 years. In discussing the merits of the various techniques for capturing an accurate impression of a foot for the purpose of creating a foot orthotic device and valid argument can be made for and against all of them. For many years plaster casting has been considered the optimal technique, with an experienced practitioner being able to reproduce results consistently, and have the ability to assess the cast immediately upon removal from the foot and determine if it is suitable or not. The same can be said for foam casting box and STS sock techniques.
Digital scanning of the foot is now considered the standard for gaining a neutral position impression for the purpose of making a functional foot orthosis. The practical advantages in time and cost savings is readily apparent. Kevin Rosenbloom recently produced a video demonstrating his technique for gaining a neutral position impression of the foot, utilizing the recently upgraded Foot ID Pro, as well as how to order the device within the new app.
For those of you who would like an overview of more traditional techniques of gaining a neutral position impression of the foot, I offer the following for your review.
A 2007 article by Jeff Root and Doug Richie, D.P.M. is a wonderful review and summary of the theory behind and the importance of gaining an accurate neutral position impression of the foot in order to produce a gold standard custom foot orthotic device.
The efficacy of a functional custom foot orthosis has been demonstrated thousands, if not millions, of times over the span of many years. Now it is possible due to recent technological developments such as digital scanning, to have a streamlined process of obtaining the impression of the foot, reviewing it for accuracy, prescribing and ordering the proper orthotic device, all with the use of one handheld device!
