Custom Molded Orthotics 1. So you have foot pain , your arches hurt or your heel hurts and you are at drugstore or the running store and you see a pair of inserts. You think to yourself this will work. and you drop thirty dollars on a pair. They help for two days and now the pain is back so you go back to the store and they sell you a more expensive pair , again you get a little relief but the pain comes back. Soon this next picture is you.

store bought orthotics

The above picture is a patient that came into the office with a suitcase full of store brought and non doctor made orthotics. What is wrong with a store brought orthotic you ask, I will compare it to eyeglasses and contact lenses. Just like if you have vision problems you need to go to a ophthalmologist to get the proper prescription to correct your vision issues. You cant just walk into a glasses store and pull a pair of glasses off the shelf to get the correct adjustment, you need to be evaluated by a doctor and then you can get the proper glasses. So too with orthotics, when you go to the local drugstore and pull one off the shelf it is based on one thing only and that is your shoe size. Sometimes people go to running stores and they get a pair there , unfortunately for them they are getting evaluated by the store employee who is not a doctor and not a state licensed physician. In California you can not get prescription glasses or contacts without a prescription from an eye doctor first. I don’t see why that should not be the same for orthotics. Stay tuned for our next post discussing the importance of a proper exam leading to a proper orthotic prescription.