Every sport places a unique set of mechanical demands on the foot and lower limb.
The loading pattern in a hockey stride is nothing like the ground contact of a distance runner. The rotational demands of a golf swing are not the same as the lateral cutting forces of a tennis match. A generic orthotic cannot account for these differences. Align Orthotics™ are designed around what your sport actually requires of your body — prescribed by a Registered Chiropodist following a Sports Body Align Assessment.
Our Body Align Assessment is the appointment we recommend if you are in need of sports-specific Align Orthotics™.
Experience a comprehensive 55 minute assessment from our team of Registered Chiropodists. Your clinician will examine how your body moves as a connected system - including your posture, back, hips, knees, ankles, leg length differences, walking gait, and, of course, your feet and any specific symptoms. This whole-body biomechanical evaluation features advanced slow-motion video analysis at 240-fps, musculoskeletal testing and includes a shoe shopping tutorial.
During your appointment, Custom Align Orthotics™ may be prescribed as part of your treatment plan, if clinically recommended. Your clinician will take precise 3D laser scans of your feet to create fully customized orthotics designed specifically for your body, movement patterns, and lifestyle needs.
Your custom orthotics are typically ready within two weeks, at which time you’ll return for a personalized fitting appointment to ensure proper alignment, comfort, and function.
All services are claimable under most extended health insurance plans through Chiropody, Podiatry or Custom Orthotics coverage.
Align Orthotics™ are designed to guide the foot into improved alignment — not brace it there passively. With consistent use, the corrected position becomes the body's new normal, reinforcing better movement patterns through every rep, stride, and step. In sport, this translates to more efficient mechanics and reduced injury risk over time.
Sensory feedback from the foot drives how the rest of the body organizes itself during movement. Sport-specific Align Orthotics™ are designed with proprioceptive features — including kinetic wedges, cuboid support, and 1st MPJ cutouts — that heighten the foot's sensory input and improve balance, stability, and coordination under athletic load.
Where faulty mechanics are identified through the Sports Body Align Assessment, the orthotic is designed to address them directly — guiding the rearfoot, controlling pronation rate, supporting the medial arch, or correcting forefoot alignment — depending on what the assessment finds and what the sport demands.
Sport places repetitive, high-magnitude load through the foot and lower limb. Align Orthotics™ redistribute that load, reduce peak pressure at vulnerable sites, and improve how forces are transmitted through the kinetic chain — reducing cumulative stress on tendons, joints, and bone.
For athletes managing an injury, sport-specific orthotics allow the foot to function in a corrected position while other treatment progresses — meaning your physiotherapist, chiropractor, or athletic therapist can focus on the structures they're treating without waiting for the foot to compensate less. The orthotic does the positional work so the rest of the body can adapt.
Running orthotics are designed to encourage efficient pronation, not eliminate it. Flexible materials, pitch grind modifications, and a 2mm base layer allow the foot to move naturally through the gait cycle while providing proprioceptive guidance and arch support calibrated to the runner's foot type and gait findings. Design follows a full running gait analysis at 240fps — phase by phase, from initial contact through propulsion and swing.
In cycling the foot is fixed to the pedal, making rearfoot and forefoot alignment critical to knee tracking and power transfer. Align Orthotics™ for cycling optimize the alignment of the foot within the shoe and cleat system, reducing medial knee drift and improving pedal stroke efficiency. A non-weight-bearing 3D scan is used to capture foot position with precision.
Skating demands maximum power transfer from the foot through the blade — which means rigidity and fit precision are the design priorities. Align Orthotics™ for hockey skates feature a stiffer construction, narrow profile, flat heel cup, and postings calibrated to optimize alignment within the skate shell. The skate must be scanned directly to ensure accurate fit.
The narrow last of most cleats limits the materials and volume available for orthotic design. Soccer orthotics prioritize a flexible EVA shell, 6mm heel cup, and pitch grind adjusted to the midsole of the specific cleat. Cuboid support is included where indicated to reduce ankle inversion risk. The cleat is scanned directly for accurate fit.
Court sports involve high shear forces, explosive change of direction, and significant vertical load. Orthotics for these sports avoid poron due to shear sensitivity and use Nyplex as a midlayer for durability and rebound. Design prioritizes rearfoot stability and forefoot load distribution.
Agility-dominant sports with frequent lateral movement require orthotics that support ankle stability without restricting the foot's ability to respond quickly. A 1st metatarsal cutout or soft Morton's extension is commonly indicated, along with cuboid support to reduce inversion risk during cutting and directional change.
Golf orthotics are one of Align's most clinically developed sport-specific designs. The trail foot and lead foot have distinct mechanical roles — the trail foot requires lateral stability during the backswing, while the lead foot manages weight transfer and follow-through. Key design features include a 14–18mm heel cup, lateral flange, MLA calibrated to allow 25–50% compression, 1st MPJ cutout on the trail foot only, and no rearfoot-to-forefoot differential. Design is informed by barefoot swing analysis in slow motion. (See the dedicated Golf Align Orthotics™ page.)
Ski boot orthotics work within the constraints of a rigid, fixed shell — which means the boot's sidewall and heel counter already provide significant structural support. Design focuses on optimizing foot and ankle alignment within the boot, with a low heel cup, medium density, and minimal cutouts unless accommodation is clinically indicated. The boot must be scanned for accurate fit.
Cleated field sports share many design principles with soccer — flexible shell, pitch grind to match the cleat midsole, cuboid support for ankle stability on uneven ground. Forefoot design considerations vary by position and movement demands identified in the Sports Body Align Assessment.
Curling places unique asymmetric demands on the foot — particularly the sliding foot, which requires stability and a flat, controlled base. Orthotics are designed to optimize foot alignment within the curling shoe and improve balance through the delivery.
Stability and ground contact are the primary goals. Orthotics for lifting prioritize a flat, grounded feel with strong rearfoot control — keeping the foot from pronating under load during squats, deadlifts, and Olympic movements. Minimal heel-to-toe differential is preferred to maintain a flat lifting position.
Every sport-specific Align Orthotic™ begins with a Sports Body Align Assessment. Your clinician evaluates your posture, foot mechanics, and sport-specific movement — using 240fps video analysis and hands-on assessment — before a 3D laser scan is taken and the orthotic is designed. The design considers three things simultaneously: your foot shape and biomechanics, the footwear the orthotic will be used in, and the specific demands of your sport.
Sports Body Align Assessment | Running Gait Analysis | Golf Align Orthotics™
Yes. A sport-specific Align Orthotic™ is designed around the movement demands, footwear, and loading patterns of a particular activity. The materials, features, heel cup depth, forefoot design, and flexibility are all calibrated to the sport — not repurposed from a general design.
Yes, but with caution - speak to your Align Clinician. The footwear, load demands, and biomechanical requirements of different sports are often incompatible in a single design. Most athletes benefit from sport-specific devices for their primary activities.
Yes. All Align Orthotics™ are prescribed following a Sports Body Align Assessment. The assessment findings directly inform the design — without it, we're designing in the dark.
Yes. Align Orthotics™ are training tools. Many of our sport clients come in without pain — they come because they want to move better, reduce injury risk, or improve consistency in their mechanics. The risk is often visible in the movement pattern long before symptoms appear.
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.
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