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| Athletes | Children | Diabetics | Seniors | Arthritics |
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Arthritis is not one disease but a group of diseases, all of which can cause pain, inflammation, and limited movement of the joints. The different types of arthritis are Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Psoriatic and Gout. The two most common types of Arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis or "Wear and Tear" arthritis is specific to one or several joints. Pain is the major symptom but others include stiffness, crackling, enlargement and deformities of the afflicted joint or joints, with inflammation possible in the advanced stages. It occurs when the joint surfaces of the bones wear down, possibly caused by a previous injury, long term mechanical stress on a joint, over use, or mechanical factors. Treatment If the joints are simply being stressed in an abnormal way, there are ways of unloading them or removing excessive pressure. Techniques for taking a load off the joints include: • Using a mobility aid • Losing weight, if necessary • Custom Foot Orthotics Custom orthotics relieve pressure and stress on the joints by facilitating proper alignment. Once the foot is correctly aligned, the knees and hips have decreased wear and tear. Orthotics are prescribed to improve the biomechanics to counteract stress to the joints. Rheumatoid Arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis is the most crippling form of arthritis. It not only affects the joints like osteoarthritis, but also can cause severe deformities of the joints, especially in high stress areas such as the feet. It is an autoimmune disease brought about when the body has "turned on itself", with the immune system attacking bodily tissues just as if they were foreign invaders. Treatment The treatment for rheumatoid arthritis is designed to alleviate pain, reduce inflammation, stop or slow joint damage, and improve overall body functioning. Aside from drug therapy and surgery, exercise and therapy can help reduce joint stiffness and swelling, alleviate pain and increase joint mobility. Orthotics provide a non-invasive therapy by correcting mechanical imbalances and helping to relieve and off-load pressure. Gout In gout, uric acid, a waste product in the urine cycle, is either overproduced or underexcreted or both. When a person has too much uric acid in their system some of it forms uric acid crystals. The crystals find their way to the big toe joint where it becomes hot, painfully swollen and stiff. These crystals (like sharp pieces of glass) are deposited into the joint space, causing swelling and stiffness, rather than being cleared by the kidneys. Treatment Gout is usually controlled with proper treatment, which usually includes the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for pain and inflammation, dietary restriction and medications to reduce the amount of uric acid production. Orthotics assist in off-loading the affected area and normalizing the patient’s gait.cli8c Psoriatic Arthritis An inherited disease, this form of arthritis sometimes occurs in people with the skin condition called psoriasis. Psoriatic arthritis settles in the end joints of the fingers or toes, causing them to become so swollen that they’re often referred to as "sausage digits". Although the disease is chronic, most people with psoriatic arthritis feel well with the exception of their joint pain. Treatment Treatment regimes of psoriatic arthritis include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) as well as exercises to improve joint mobility and rest. Orthotics assist in maintaining alignment, reducing plantar pressures, off-loading affected joints and facilitating proper biomechanicl foot function during exercise. Conclusion: Custom Foot Orthotics and Arthritis Improper alignment or incorrect use of muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments, and joints can cause excessive wear and tear on the body, leading to injury and arthritis. If you don’t correct the underlying problems, you can’t reduce the progression of the disease.Orthotics correct joint motion and relieve pain associated with arthritis. They remove the abnormal stress and strains on the foot by maintaining proper foot and ankle position, relieving mechanical stress and alleviating pressure on sensitive areas of the foot. With arthritic patients, the main focus of care should be to reduce pain and improve function. This can be accomplished with custom foot orthotics. Footprints Orthotics can evaluate biomechanical problems with a computerized gait and pressure analysis and orthotics can be made from that same data to treat biomechanical problems. |
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