We have special problems maintaining our posture because we stand on a narrow base, precariously balanced on two limbs. Long and thin, we are required to hold ourselves erect, occasionally for long periods of time. We are designed to do so with the least expenditure of energy - provided we don’t spoil the delicate postural mechanisms by using orthotics.
The body’s response to orthotic devices worn in shoes
When an orthotic is placed in the shoe we are held off balance. The body tries to compensate by making corrective adjustments all the way up through the pelvis and trunk to the neck and head. The body’s weight is no longer distributed on the proper six points of the feet but is thrown onto the fleshy sides of the feet and onto the heels at an angle. Recreation of the arches is achieved by inverting and supinating the feet, forcing the heels to tilt and twist away from one another, and making the toes hold on tight.
[In time, wearing such devices makes your posture worse, chronic pain symptoms increase.]
Comments by Ms Christine Ackers
Sydney Australia
Christine.ackers@ate.org.au
35 years experience teaching the Alexander Technique
My clinical observations regarding orthotics parallel those of Ms Ackers. Although I was originally trained to use these devices, as a Podiatrist over 35 years ago, I discontinued prescribing them in 1992.
