A great pair of shoes can do wonders for your daily routine. However, many people find that stock options off the shelf are unable to fully accommodate their unique structural changes, physical imbalances, or specific medical needs. Custom shoe modifications are a great solution. By adapting your current favorite pairs of shoes or a new selection from our gallery, we can create a custom solution that matches your natural gait patterns and keeps you moving comfortably.
These specialized footwear modifications are carefully determined during an assessment with our Registered Chiropodists. They are then crafted at a specialized laboratory alongside Canadian certified pedorthists to your exact clinical needs. This process creates modified footwear that delivers highly targeted support right where your body needs it most.
We often recommend altering a stock shoe or running shoe when standard options fall short of protecting your long-term health. Common reasons for these adjustments include:
Many clients come to us knowing they need one shoe altered due to structural leg length differences. During your appointment, your clinician will carefully evaluate your gait, your current footwear, and your history to verify the exact treatment blueprint before anything is sent to the lab.
Lifts are the modification we prescribe most often, and the most common reason is a leg length discrepancy (LLD) — when one leg is functionally or structurally longer than the other. Left unaddressed, even a small difference forces your body to compensate, loading your knees, hips, and lower back unevenly with every step.
When the discrepancy is small, an internal lift placed inside the shoe or orthotic may be enough. Beyond a certain height, though, an internal lift crowds the foot and changes how the shoe fits — so we build an external lift directly into the midsole and outsole instead. This gives you the correction you need without compromising the fit or stability of the shoe. Depending on your gait, the lift can sit under the heel alone or be tapered across the full length of the sole for a smoother, more natural roll-through.
The height isn't a guess. Your clinician measures the discrepancy and, just as importantly, distinguishes a true LLD (an actual difference in bone length) from a functional one (a difference created by pelvic obliquity, foot posture, or muscle imbalance) — because the two are corrected very differently, and a lift built for the wrong one can make matters worse. We assess your standing posture, pelvic alignment, and how you move before settling on a height.
For long-standing discrepancies, we often correct gradually rather than all at once. Your body has adapted to the imbalance over years, and easing into the correction lets it adjust comfortably — you'll be reassessed as you progress.
Lifts work best on well-structured footwear with a stable sole, and they pair naturally with custom orthotics when you need both. Ongoing check-ups are a necessity as the body adapts, the treatment prescription may need to as well. Book a Signature Body Align Assessment to find out whether a shoe lift is right for you.
Structural issues like bunions or hammer toes create painful pressure points against standard shoe walls. Targeted stretching allows us to physically expand the leather or fabric upper at the exact location of the deformity. This creates immediate protection and space, helping to reduce pain and eliminate friction without ruining the look or fit of the rest of the footwear.
While stretching fixes a single spot, widening changes the overall structural width of the shoe’s toe box or midfoot. This keeps your foot from feeling compressed, providing vital skin protection against diabetic ulcers while ensuring your toes have room to spread naturally during physical activities.
A rocker sole alters the curved angle of the shoe's outsole to naturally roll your foot forward as you walk. This helps alleviate pain by taking the mechanical strain off specific joints in the forefoot. It is highly effective for clients dealing with a restricted ankle range of motion, achilles tendonitis, or painful tension across the metatarsal heads and the ball of the foot. Reshaping the sole is also incredibly beneficial for managing complex structural changes caused by rheumatoid arthritis or charcot foot, where normal bending of the foot is painful or restricted.
A flare extends the underlying base of the shoe outwards—either on the medial (inner) or lateral (outer) side—to prevent the foot and ankle from tipping. A medial flare helps manage over-pronation by stabilizing the inner arch, while a lateral flare provides crucial protection for chronic ankle instability or repetitive supination. These external wedges work beautifully alongside custom orthotics to keep your stride centered under load.
A buttress is a firm structural reinforcement added to the upper or heel counter of the shoe. It offers direct structural guidance when the stock material of a shoe is too soft to manage severe rearfoot instability or conditions like clubfoot. Your clinician will select the ideal material and placement to provide rigid, dependable stability that a standard orthotic alone cannot achieve.
Before any shoe modifications are prescribed, your clinician conducts a comprehensive biomechanical assessment to look at your movement patterns and check the state of your shoes. We only apply these adjustments to high-quality orthopedic footwear or sturdy casual shoes in good condition; if a shoe is unevenly worn down, we’ll help you select a proper replacement first.
Once your plan is finalized, your footwear is sent to our trusted lab partner, where it is custom-made to exact specifications. The turnaround time depends on the specific changes required and will be walked through during your initial visit.
Not every shoe is a candidate. The footwear needs a stable midsole and strong, high-quality material to hold the correction safely. We will inspect your favorite pairs during your visit to see if they are a good match or if starting fresh with a new pair from our showroom is the better choice.
Every adjustment to the sole or heel is carefully balanced with your existing custom orthotics. We evaluate the entire foot and ankle dynamic so your footwear and your orthotic work together as a cohesive system to keep you comfortable.
Many shoe modifications and specialized alterations prescribed by a Registered Chiropodist are covered under most extended health plans in Ontario. We recommend checking directly with your insurance company to verify your specific footwear and orthotics benefits.
We will happily review any notes from your physician or physical therapist. A focused check of your current shoes and a brief gait analysis is often all it takes to determine the correct blueprint for your custom shoe modifications.
Ready to check 'healthy feet' off your self-care list? Book your appointment today by using the link below. It's never too early or too late to start. We look forward to helping you find beauty and balance through better foot health. Improve the way you move.
For any additional inquiries, please utilize our contact form and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
