custom made orthotics?

KendalBeee

To those with the podiatrist made, custom fit orthotics---how long does the orthotic last? Does it ever wear out? Will it need to be replaced eventually? I'm going to have them put in my tennis shoes so that it will be more gentle on my feet/knees/legs/back when I run. But I'm wondering if they will wear out faster by running in the constantly....(once I get back to running if this dang plantar faciitis will ever freaking go away!)

megruder

I had custom orthotics made in high school. I was still using them off and on up until about a year ago, I'm 32 now. I was not aware that they could wear out until I saw a sports medicine guy about 5 years ago, but he said mine were still in good/decent shape. I wore them pretty much all the time for several years, but that never involved running. If you are wearing them for plantar faciitis, my understanding was that the more you wore them the better, so I always wore the same shoes or moved the orthotics when I wore different shoes on occasion. Obviously they won't fit into some shoes, for those I've found the gel type Dr. Scholl's arch support things seem to work well. There is adhesive on them so they stay in place.

I know I didn't answer the running part, but I hope this helps! FYI, I still have the orthotics, but I'm not on my feet very much any more and I can usually get by if I wear shoes with good arch support, or plan ahead i.e. not wearing painful shoes if I know I'll be on my feet for any real length of time.