Yep. When I was in grad school, the human biomechanists were at one
end of the hall, and the comparative/evolutionary types were at the
other end (myself included). There was very little interaction between
the two groups at a professional level. Funny that I now teach
Comparative Anatomy, Human A&P, and Human Exercise Physiology.
Personally, I feel that there is great value in being
multidisciplinary.

Pete

Orthodics seem like a great tool for recovering from an injury but not a permanent solution.

Not to go off topic but this made me think of another article. Pete- did you see this in Runner’s World?

http://peakperformance.runners…

Thanks a ton for posting this. I have spent years in the specialty running industry with around 8000 shoe fittings. We saw a ton of orthotics. As Dr. Nigg alluded to orthotic use for long periods could create muscle weakness and my own anecdotal evidence would support this. And these weak feet would generally be recommended stronger orthotics by well intentioned practitioners.

The other element I noticed was a certain level of emotional dependence on the orthotics. Runners would be so conditioned to think that this device was the only means of them being able to run, regardless of the efficacy. For some, orthotics became a crutch that had huge control over their running experience. It wasn’t until the past two years that I saw people slowly experiment with abandoning them and work on balance, strength and mechanics.

The idea would be that by being free from arboreal life, we could do
away with the opposable big toe that chimps have, and develop the arch
that we have and chimps don’t. As Mark says in another comment, the
arch is thought to be an adaptation for bipedal locomotion since it is
not present in chimps. We also have much shorter toes than chimps.

Pete

Yes, I did see that article. I have the book that is referenced there and am slowly working through it. Some controversial stuff in it, but an interesting read.

Seems like a reasonable approach – glad to hear that it’s working for you.

I absolutely believe that orthotics can have a role, and that they can be very helpful in some cases. Just trying to interpret the article, which seems to imply that their efficacy is hit or miss and that other approaches (such as stregnthening work) might be effective as well (and perhaps less costly). Just trying to think this stuff through. Thanks for the feedback!

Not just prescriptions: nearly every shoe incorporates orthotics in the form of a heel raise and arch support, so just about everyone has to use them.