How Custom Orthotics Help Patients With Lower Back Pain

Lower back pain can feel like a curse. For some people, the pain can be so debilitating that it causes them to miss work and family activities. If you are experiencing lower back pain, the treatment options available to you may sound exhausting, and simply taking pain medication may lead to unwanted side effects. Thankfully, there is an unexpected solution to lower back pain: custom orthotics. 

Custom orthotics are healthcare devices made by podiatrists that stabilize the feet and ankles. These devices slip into footwear for a discreet solution to a huge range of health problems affecting the feet, ankles, legs, hip, and lower back. This article covers the use of custom orthotics to treat lower back pain.

How Problems With The Feet Can Cause Lower Back Pain

If you can walk, you rely on your feet and legs throughout the day. But you may not pay attention to how they are positioned. A regular, even gait doesn't just affect your feet — it affects the alignment of your hips, spine, and shoulders, too. If you walk on the sides of your feet, take uneven steps, roll your feet strangely as you walk, or alter your gait to avoid pain, your back will almost certainly feel the effects of your gait pattern. Although all of those gait patterns are different, a podiatrist can provide a simple solution for each of them through custom orthotics.

How Custom Orthotics Can Ease Lower Back Pain

Custom orthotics have one primary purpose: to stabilize the feet and ankles. They need to be custom-fit to each patient to ensure they correct every gait problem perfectly. In the case of patients with lower back pain, podiatrists analyze the way the walk and stand before making orthotics that hold their feet in the right position. These devices aren't painful or obvious to anyone but the wearer, and over time, they can help the body return to a natural, pain-free posture while standing and walking by fixing problems where they begin: in the feet.

The Benefits Of Choosing Custom Orthotics Over Other Treatments

Lower back pain treatments can be invasive. Prescription pain medication, traction treatments, nerve stimulation, and surgery can lead to unwanted side effects, long recovery times, and medical debt. Custom orthotics, on the other hand, are relatively inexpensive, completely painless, and instantly effective. If your lower back pain is caused by an undiagnosed issue with your feet, a visit to the podiatrist can save you time, money, and pain.

To learn more about custom orthotics, visit an orthotic clinic in your area.