Enjoy Racquet Sports and Avoid Painful Foot Ailments with Orthotics

As a player of racquet sports you certainly get to burn up plenty of calories but your feet take a fair amount of pounding. Many problems caused by the constant side-to-side movement, running, jumping and lunging, afflict racquet sports enthusiasts.

Many of these troubling conditions can be easily avoided or overcome. You can manage or avoid heel and knee pain, ankle sprains, and plantar fasciitis  with custom made orthotics from companies like The Healthy Foot.

How Orthotics Help Racquet Players

Properly designed orthotics will stabilise any excess movement of the foot.  They help protect against the greatest forces when the heel strikes the ground. The shock absorbing material increases the surface area, which helps reduce the ground force impacts from travelling up the body.

Orthotics will do the following:

• Reduce sideways movement toward the Achilles tendon.

• Lessen jarring and pulling on the calf muscle.

• Prevent the foot from rolling

How Orthotics are Made

The process is a highly skilled procedure and involves a considerable amount of expertise.

• The podiatrist takes a three dimensional scan or uses a plaster bandage to make a mould of the foot and ankle.

• From this cast a positive mould is then made from resin or plaster.

• The light, shock absorbent material for the orthotic is then heated and pressed into the mould under pressure.

• As it cools it retains the memory of exact shape of the foot.

• Finally the orthotic height and angle is ground to achieve precise measurement by the extremely accurate calibrated belt grinders.

Cushioning materials may also be vacuumed pressed against the forefoot areas to allow for extra comfort and support in these vulnerable regions of the foot.

Understanding the Value of Custom Orthotics

Of course, orthotics are readily available over the counter. However, these can only be made cost effectively by catering for a general "one type suits all" specification.

Racquet players need an orthotic that takes the movements of the sport into consideration. The specific requirement for supporting running, jumping, lunging and twisting needs to be incorporated. The orthotic must be designed to allow the muscles and tendons to perform those movements efficiently and safely.

So that you can continue to enjoy your racquet sports and avoid the pain and inconvenience of unwanted foot ailments it makes sense to see your podiatrist and have a talk about the right orthotics for you.

Having the right support will give you confidence to go ahead and play, gain great satisfaction from your chosen sport and be entirely free from any concerns about suffering painful setbacks.