The human foot is made up of 26 bones, 33 joints, and more than 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments, all working together to support our body weight and allow us to walk. In a perfect world, the front of the foot (the forefoot), the middle of the foot (the midfoot), and the back of the foot (the rearfoot), all work in synchronicity with one another resulting in a perfectly balanced and aligned foot with no digital deformities, arch abnormalities or joint derangements.

Unfortunately, this is not usually the case. In almost all humans, different parts of the foot are negatively influenced by muscles and the tendons attached to them. This causes the foot to function in an abnormal fashion and can lead to foot pain, deformity, impaired ambulation, and arthritis.

Orthotics are custom-molded inserts for the shoes that are made to neutralize abnormal foot mechanics and allow the parts of the foot to function in an appropriate manner, thereby reducing or eliminating pain, slowing or arresting deformity progression and producing a more normal and, hopefully, pain-free gait. While they cannot correct a specific structural deformity already present in the foot, they can help to prevent its progression.