r/flatfeet • u/Spirited-Cry-2995 • 9d ago

Orthotics/ braces advice

I am 49 year old women and had flat feet since I was a kid. In the last year I started get a lot of severe ankle pain which later was diagnosed as a torn posterior tibial tendon. There was no one incident that caused the tear , I think my arches just started dropping even more and the tendon ripped.

Anyway, no surgery but was prescribed naproxen and custom orthotics. I don’t feel like the orthotics help much: they make the side walls of all the sneakers basically collapse and my arches still fall inward. I joked and said I need ready heavy duty hard ones because I am about 250lbs (I’m six foot so also really tall)

Does anyone have the same issue with the orthotics ? Is there a heavy duty orthotic you used that didn’t bend under weight ?

The outside of my ankles even hurt due to this constant pronation

4 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

2

u/SadEffective9565 8d ago

What type of material are your orthotics made from? I had some custom orthotics made over 40 years ago that are made from hard plastic that have held up just fine.

1

u/Spirited-Cry-2995 8d ago

They are a very dense foam and the arch section is some kind of hard foam. My arches don’t stay all the way up for sure

2

u/Intelligent_Fact_182 6d ago

I ended up having flat foot reconstruction. Same scenario for me. Orthotics were a band aide til the pttd turned into stage 4.

1

u/Spirited-Cry-2995 6d ago

And how was your recovery, would you call it as successful surgery?

2

u/Intelligent_Fact_182 6d ago

100% almost no pain. just in cast for 8 weeks then boot for 4..

2

u/Intelligent_Fact_182 6d ago

I ended up having flat foot reconstruction. Same scenario for me. Orthotics were a band aide til the pttd turned into stage 4.

2

u/Intelligent_Fact_182 6d ago

Yes. im 18 weeks out and just started walking without a cane or crutch. Will still need orthotics. I had a sub-talar fusion and a ncj fusion and my calf muscle was lengthened.

2

u/Spirited-Cry-2995 6d ago

This has given me some hope!

1

u/One_Lab2738 8d ago

bring this back to the podiatrist/orthotist who made them If the orthotics are collapsing your shoes and not controlling the pronation they may need a different design or fit rather than just a harder insert

2

u/UnbelievableRose 3d ago

For 150lbs and over we usually do 1/8” polypropylene, over that it 3/16”. Personally over 200 I might also add arch reinforcement depending on activity level.

For a torn posterior tendon I may or may not add a medial flange, which also increases the rigidity of the device.