Getting To The Bottom Of A Patient Complaint About Having Blisters After Orthotic Use

A colleague contacted me about a patient who is getting blisters when wearing her new orthotics. The patient sent the orthotics back once for modification but they were still causing blisters.

The patient was wearing a graphite orthosis with a standard width, a standard heel cup and no rearfoot post. The patient wanted to get one pair of orthotics that would work in both her dress shoes and her athletic shoes.

It turned out that the blistering occurred only when she was running and using the orthotics.

I explained that the problem was not the height of the arch of the orthotic but that this orthotic is not meant to be used in a running shoe. The patient wished to have an orthosis that works in both dress shoes and running shoes, but it is impossible to make a single device that is going to work well in both women’s dress shoes and in an athletic shoe. The current device is simply too narrow and, without a post, too unstable to use as a running orthosis.

The patient would be better off using this device only in her dress shoes and then using a prefabricated full-length posted orthosis in her running shoes if she did not wish to get two pair of custom orthotic devices.

It is up to us to educate patients as to the advantages and disadvantages of different types of orthoses. I let the patients know I can make an orthosis for dress shoes or for athletic shoes, but I am clear that the two devices are not interchangeable. Often, they will start with one and later order the other, but often they will just simply order both at the same time.

Since this orthosis is working fine in the patient’s dress shoes, I would suggest she continue to wear the device in those shoes and for now just use the full-sized prefabricated orthosis in her running shoes.

Editor’s note: This blog was first published at https://prolaborthotics.com/Blog/tabid/90/EntryID/461/Default.aspx and has been adapted with permission from Lawrence Huppin, DPM, and ProLab Orthotics. For more information, visit www.prolaborthotics.com .