How to Benefit from Customized Orthotics for an Active or Athletic Lifestyle

JamesAnkles & Feet, Footwear, Legs & Knees, Movement, Orthotics, Pain & Pain Management, Running, Sports Therapy2 Comments

The Dynamic Balancing Act of The Foot Series – Part 3

How to Benefit from Customized Orthotics for an Active or Athletic Lifestyle

James Fowler has been an accredited physical therapist for 28 years and has worked hard to accumulate a vast amount of both professional and personal experience. Fowler has evaluated hundreds of ankle and foot injuries over the course of his professional career as well as participated in college sports as a Division I middle-distance runner at the University of California, Berkeley. Both experiences shaped Fowler’s holistic view on Orthotics. 

Years ago, Fowler noticed how challenging and frustrating it was to try to rehab a patient’s ankle, foot, or knee injury after they had been wearing hard orthotics for years. At a certain point, most cases showed that the body had unfortunately grown accustomed to the orthotics, forgetting that there is, in fact, an insert in the shoe responsible for supporting their foot and ankle! According to Fowler, this is not very advantageous for an active person. Instead, it is crucial for the foot to remain dynamic and work in tandem with the ankle to achieve balance with the ground, then continue that balance further up the chain – past the ankle, knee, hip, pelvis, and spine all the way to head.

To stand vertically constitutes a dynamic balancing act of all the body’s joints staying tall and upright. Every joint employs a buffering system that keeps the balance of the joints above and below. This ultimately enables the body’s incredible ability to move in different directions, to turn and rotate quickly, to stop and start and to be able to slide across the surface maintaining proper position. 

10 years ago, Fowler found his orthotics clinic of choice after meeting Tamir Kfir, a leading Orthotist and Prosthetist with 20 years of professional experience in designing orthotics and orthopedic prosthesis. Tamir’s unique design perfectly complemented what Fowler had been looking for – orthotics that keep the foot working dynamically and further challenges the ankle and foot to support the body up the entire chain. Tamir’s Dynamic Motion Control™ technique is a way of designing orthotics for athletes and individuals involved in sports or for those simply wanting to enjoy an active and pain free lifestyle. The Dynamic Motion Control™ uniqueness lies in its ability to identify an individual’s needs and tailor the orthotics to work specifically for them.

The Dynamic Motion Control™ is a multiple density ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) orthosis that is customizable to the patient’s unique activity level and involvement in sports. The tremendous benefit of activity and sports specificity is that individual movements can be taken into consideration in the customization of the orthosis, such as the sport’s physical demands, types of movements, and the athlete’s individual ability and goals. 

Before the orthotics are fitted, each patient undergoes comprehensive testing at James Fowler Physical Therapy to professionally analyze the unique structure and movement of their feet. Subsequently, this data is used to produce custom-made orthotics that are truly customized to each patient’s physical attributes, sport, and activities they participate in.

As part of the customization process, we will take your detailed health history, and assess your height, weight, activity level and any medical conditions. Full body pictures, a video of your gait and specific sport/activity, and a 3D impression digital scan of your feet will also be taken to assist us in assessing your alignment postural integrity and to create an orthotic that specifically addresses existing underlying biomechanical issues.

In Fowler’s 10 years of using Rx Tamir Kfir Dynamic Motion Control™, he can vouch that they have effectively alleviated pain, prevented injuries, and enhanced performance! Tamir Kfir clientele includes many internationally renowned athletes and teams across all fields of professional sports.

Kfir has worked with true world class athletes such as:

  • The #1 ranked tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic
  • NBA stars such as Kevin Durant, Luka Dončić, and DeMar Rosen
  • Entire NBA teams such as the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma Thunder
  • World class soccer players such as Neymar and the Brazilian national soccer team

To summarize, here are some of the important benefits of The Dynamic Motion Control™ for your feet and your overall health

  • Helps to alleviate chronic pain
  • Improves postural alignment and support
  • Maintains knee stability
  • Prevents ankle sprain
  • Prevents stress fractures and shin splints
  • Supports stability and balance while standing
  • Prevents the foot’s slipping-and-sliding inside the shoe

To learn about the specific benefits of orthotics for a specific sport, click here for the final part of this series!

2 Comments on “How to Benefit from Customized Orthotics for an Active or Athletic Lifestyle”

  1. Pingback: Kinetic Chain Approach for Ankle and Foot Injuries | James Fowler Physical Therapy

  2. Pingback: The Benefits of Tamir Kfir Orthotics for Health and Sports Performance | James Fowler Physical Therapy

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