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Improving Your Musculoskeletal Health... Starting With Your Feet

ProKinetics® Insoles vs. Orthotics

ProKinetics® Insoles -
How are they different?

There is really no comparison. Traditional orthotics and shoe inserts are inseparable from arch supports, heel posts, heel cups and cushioning. If you haven't done much work with orthotics here is a quick review:

The key elements of standard orthotics whether 3/4 or full length are arch supports and heel cups. Conventional wisdom professes that you can control hyperpronation by supporting the arch with an arch support and reduce eversion of the heel by placing it in a heel cup.

This works quite well so long as you stand still, and that’s the problem. Who stands still? Active people walk and run; they bend and are on their toes. When your weight is on your forefoot or when you are on your toes, your weight is not on the orthotic.

It is recognized that traditional orthotics immobilize the foot. The collapsed arch is simply supported in place. The muscles capable of controlling the arch are no longer being challenged to work and they atrophy. Instead of becoming stronger and healthier, the foot becomes weaker. So fitting someone who has functional arches with arch supports seems as unreasonable as fitting a neck brace on someone who has a sore neck.

ProKinetics® Insoles control hyperpronation from the forefoot, and that is an important difference because the forefoot is always on the ground when the foot tries to hyperpronate. This is why ProKinetics® Insoles effectively control hyperpronation through the complete gait cycle.

ProKinetics® Insoles can be fit with arch supports, but we generally recommend them only for people with flexible flat feet, and we use a mild amount to facilitate the transfer vector forces across the longitudinal arch.

Heel lifts may also be used with ProKinetics® Insoles to offset for physical leg length differences. They may also be used symmetrically for extra cushioning or to alleviate Achilles pain.

We do not offer and do not recommend medial heel posts be used with ProKinetics® Insoles. A medial heel post should only be used if the heel itself is structurally everted, and it should be noted that it may elevate the first metatarsal further.