Plantar fasciitis & heel pain
First-line conservative care for stubborn heel pain and plantar fascia overload, offloading the fascia so it can settle while you keep moving.
Custom Orthotics in Toronto
Custom-made foot orthotics designed to correct your specific biomechanical pattern, overpronation, supination, or asymmetry, built from a digital foot-and-gait assessment.
Since 2009Hospital-Affiliated Spine CareWomen's HealthRunning & SportsWSIB & MVA ClaimsLGBTQ+ FriendlyDirect Billing to Insurance
What it is
Biomechanical correction, not just arch support.
Custom orthotics are prescription medical devices made to correct your specific foot pattern, not a one-size-fits-all cushion. Unlike off-the-shelf inserts, they're built after a digital foot and gait assessment, so the correction is tied to how you actually move and load your feet, not a generic arch shape.
By guiding and reducing problem movement through the gait cycle, most often overpronation, but also supination, arch collapse, or a left-to-right asymmetry, orthotics lower the strain that travels up the kinetic chain to the ankles, knees, hips, and lower back. The goal isn't to make your feet dependent on a device; it's to take the abnormal load off the tissues that keep flaring up so they can settle and rebuild.
- Prescribed only after a foot-and-gait assessment, never sold off a shelf
- Targeted at overpronation, supination, asymmetry, and arch collapse
- Designed to reduce strain at the foot, knee, hip, and lower back
- A tool inside a plan, paired with hands-on care and rehab, not a stand-alone fix
How we assess & build them
We measure how you move before we prescribe anything.
Every pair starts with a clinical foot-and-gait assessment, not a sales pitch. We take a history of where and when your symptoms show up, look at your arch height and foot posture in standing, and watch how your foot strikes, rolls, and pushes off through the gait cycle. We also screen up the chain, ankle, knee, and hip mechanics, because the foot is rarely the whole story.
Only when the assessment shows a specific, correctable pattern do we capture a digital foot and gait assessment to define the prescription. That data drives the build, so the correction matches your mechanics rather than a default template. If your assessment doesn't suggest orthotics will help, we'll tell you, and point you to the care that will.
- History and symptom mapping, where the load is actually showing up
- Arch-height and foot-posture analysis in standing
- Gait observation through strike, roll, and push-off
- A digital foot and gait assessment to define your prescription
- Up-the-chain screening of ankle, knee, and hip mechanics
What they help
Where a foot correction makes the biggest difference.
Shin splints, knee & Achilles
Lower-limb overuse from running, sport, and long days on your feet. Orthotics often pair with rehab and other clinic care to share the load.
Running injury guideLow back & hip pain
When foot and ankle mechanics drive an upstream load pattern, correcting at the foot can change what's happening at the hip and lower back.
Lower back painAsymmetry & arch collapse
A leg-length difference, a flattening arch, or a one-sided pattern that keeps loading the same tissues, addressed at the source rather than masked.
What's included
From assessment to a fitted, dialled-in pair.
We keep the process clear and honest from the first visit. Many extended health plans include orthotics, bring your details and we'll confirm what's involved before anything is ordered.
- Clinical foot-and-gait assessment with history and symptom mapping
- Arch-height and foot-posture analysis
- A digital foot and gait assessment to define your prescription
- Custom build matched to your specific correction
- In-person fitting and break-in guidance
- A follow-up to confirm the correction is doing its job
- Many extended health plans include orthotics, we'll confirm your details
- Direct billing where your plan supports it
What to expect
Breaking them in, and how long they last.
New orthotics change how your feet load, so they take a short adjustment period. We'll have you wear them in gradually, short stretches at first, building up over roughly two weeks, so your feet, ankles, and the muscles up the chain adapt comfortably rather than all at once. A little awareness in the first few days is normal; sharp or lasting pain is not, and it means we should take another look.
With daily use and reasonable care, a pair of custom orthotics typically holds its correction for about a year before the shell starts to compress. The top covers wear out before the shell does and can usually be replaced without re-scanning. When the symptom they were prescribed for starts creeping back, that's the signal to be re-assessed and re-issued, not to push a worn pair further.
- Gradual break-in over about two weeks
- Mild awareness early on is normal; sharp pain is not
- Roughly a year of correction with regular use
- Worn top covers are often replaceable without a new scan
Custom-built
To your assessment
~1 year
Typical lifespan
2-week
Break-in window
Downtown
Toronto clinic
Pairs well with
Orthotics work best as part of a plan.
Running & gait assessment
If your pain is running- or load-related, a full gait assessment finds the pattern driving it, and tells us whether orthotics are the right tool at all.
Running assessmentChiropractic care
When foot mechanics are loading the knee, hip, or lower back, hands-on chiropractic care addresses what's happening above while the orthotic addresses the foundation.
See chiropractic careLower back & hip support
For low back and hip pain with a clear foot-driven component, correcting the base supports the rehab work higher up the chain.
Lower back painReviews
What our orthotics patients say
A few words from patients whose custom orthotics took the strain off feet, knees, and backs that kept flaring up.
“I was skeptical I'd only be comfortable in running shoes, but they fitted me so the pair works in my dress shoes for the office and my athletic shoes on weekends. Honest advice the whole way through.”
“My knees and shins used to ache after every run. They actually checked how I move before prescribing anything, and the orthotics, alongside the exercises they gave me, finally let me build my mileage back up.”
“Heel pain had made my first steps every morning miserable for months. After a proper assessment and a custom pair, the difference within a few weeks was night and day, I can walk first thing again without bracing for it.”
Frequently asked questions
About custom orthotics
You don't need a referral to be assessed for orthotics with us. Many extended health plans, however, require a prescription for orthotics to be covered, when you book, we'll let you know whether your plan needs one so there are no surprises.
About the clinic
From the blog
Latest from the blog
Patient-language guides on the conditions and care we see most.
Book your first visit
Tell us what you need from custom orthotics and the front desk will match you with the right practitioner.
- Same-day appointments usually available
- Direct billing to most major insurers
- Prefer to call? (416) 660-9932