DENVER FOOT ORTHOTICS
Appointment Evaluation Process
STEP 1: THE FOOT MECHANICS ™ MANUAL ORTHOPEDIC EXAM
During this phase of the evaluation, we will conduct a detailed physical exam which focuses on:
-Postural deviations and their relevance to your problem
-Muscle strength, weakness and flexibility as contributors to the inflammatory sequence
-Tendon and Ligament integrity which may ultimately influence biomechanics
With this information, we can begin constructing a solution to your problems by relating your symptoms with the examination findings.
STEP 2: THE FOOT MECHANICS ™ VIDEO ANALYSIS SEQUENCE
Chronic problems of the lower extremity are usually overuse injuries. Overuse implies motion, so it is important that we assess how you move. This is accomplished by capturing a digital video sequence of you walking and running on a treadmill. We then analyze this video on a frame-by-frame basis to identify any biomechanical movement abnormalities. This information builds on what we learned during the orthopedic exam, and allows us to begin honing in on the cause of your pain or injury.
STEP 3: THE FOOT MECHANICS ™ FORCE PLATE EVALUATION
This step of the evaluation involves the use of a digital force plate to conduct a topographical weight bearing analysis. We will have you stand on, then walk across the force plate. This allows us to take a digital “cast” of your feet, and to capture and analyze your weight transfer mechanics. This is the final piece of information that we require to make an educated diagnosis regarding the cause of your problem, and to prescribe the appropriate treatment.
STEP 4: Diagnosis
Upon completion of the evaluation, we will explain all of our findings to you. This will include a correlation of our observations to the symptoms that you are experiencing, a professional diagnosis of your particular dysfunction and recommended treatments. If a Custom Foot Orthotic is appropriate for the treatment of your condition, we will walk you through the specifics of how the orthotic will address your pain or injury. If you choose to proceed with a Custom Foot Orthotic, we will use the information gathered during the evaluation to create a custom set of orthotics that are unique to your biomechanics and feet. Orthotics are typically ready within 7-10 days from when they are ordered.
STEP 5: Follow Up
Our goal is to eliminate your pain, help heal your injury, and allow you to comfortably perform whatever activities you may enjoy on an on-going basis. To that end, we follow up with every client at 6 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months to ensure that your Custom Orthotics are having the desired effect. And of course, we are available at any time to answer questions or make adjustments.
CINDY P.
It is hard to get health care providers to listen. They hear. They don’t listen. The best thing I can say is he listened to me. He was present- and acknowledged that I, the patient, did know something about my running mechanics problems. I suffered from IT band, knee, shin, and SI joint pain. The session was extremely valuable to me. I took away a lot of very useful information. It was most interesting to learn about how my gait, foot strike, balance works in concert to affect my running stance and what specifically I can do to have a more fluid and balanced alignment so as to avoid undue stress on a particular joint or body part. It was obvious to me that he was extremely knowledgable in his field. I would love to have the Foot Mechanic as my personal trainer and coach!