1. The role of personalized insoles
At present, orthopedic insoles are personalized insoles customized by orthopedic technicians based on symptom diagnosis and foot pressure distribution analysis. The structure of the human foot is very complex. It is composed of 28 bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Each person’s foot shape is different, the degree of ligament relaxation is also different, and each person’s foot disease stage is also different.

The function of the corrective insole is to customize the insoles that meet the patient’s symptoms according to the deformity of each patient’s foot, including reasonable addition of functional blocks, to add support, shock absorption, and pressure dispersion to the insole. Through the orthopedic insole, the wrong force of the heel is adjusted to restore the balance of the sole and to achieve the correction of varus. It can realize the internal rotation of the knee joint, restore the balance of the force on the sole, and can also correct the O-shaped leg.

2. The production of orthopedic insoles
The rehabilitation department uses insoles as one of the methods of foot orthopedics to improve the patient’s foot posture. During the production process, according to the state of the individual foot, the subtalar joint of the foot is restored to a neutral position by using a mold for shaping or a thermoplastic method on the mass-produced footpad to neutralize the foot posture.

At present, the industry has begun to use plantar pressure scanners, three-dimensional scanners, etc. to sample the patient’s foot structure. After sampling, the orthopedic insole is modified, shaped, and fitted by computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing technology (CAM). The computer-aided design mainly adopts the digital modeling technology represented by Delcam PowerSHAPE and the finite element mechanical analysis technology represented by ANSYS.

The technologies used in digital forming and repairing include digital machining centers using subtractive methods and 3D rapid printing technologies using additive methods. Digital technology makes the production of orthopedic insoles more precise and scientific. At the same time, digital technology also enables high-speed, personalized customization of orthopedic insoles.

Experts said that comparing the foot orthopedic pads of different materials and production methods with each other, under the same control of the lower limb force line, the orthopedic insole with better contact with the sole is more beneficial to the user. The insole made by scanning the foot of the foot is found to reduce the pressure difference between the various areas of the sole and increase comfort.