At Buchanan Orthotics and the Buchanan Clinic we are believers in testing things before we offer them to our patients and clinicians. The last thing we want to do is offer a product then find out it was not up to the job. When we get the chance we like to give the opportunity for our staff with any issues to try devices in exchange for honest feedback and tips we can pass on to our patients
As you may have seen our Orthotist Graham is a keen runner and also likes to test things out especially if it involves breaking them.
Currently we have a few items being tested
Top covers
We often get asked how long will the top covers last on our insoles. While generally the answer will depend on how much you use them.
Currently we are testing Spenco against Poron Vive. These have been put on insoles with spenco on one vive on the other to see which wears first. They are currently on a set of test 3d Printed insoles. At the date of writing (22/5/20) they have done 565KM. Some early feed back was that the Vive dried very quickly as it is closed cell but that it felt a bit firm when compared to the spenco and required increase off loading.
3d Printed Insoles
In order to ensure our design and production is of top quality we have a number of staff wearing 3d printed insoles of various design. These range from day to day wear to running and sport.
Sense Insoles
When Graham said he was having issues with heel blisters on a new set of running shoes (A pair of Nike infinity react) we thought that would be a great time to test some thin sense insoles.
If you have not seen them, Nike Infinity react have a shallow heel counter with minimal padding. Even his test 3d printed insoles were not thin enough to prevent rubbing. So we sent Graham off to make his own insoles as thin as he could make them to fit in his new trainers.
With the use of a 1.5mm EVA top cover and grinded heel wedge they appear to work well. Graham has also reported that he finds the sense insoles a bit more comfortable than the 3d Printed insoles due to the decreased rigidity over the printed insoles.
We should add the stiffness of the 3d printed insoles was a design choice in order to test the design software. They don't have to be stiff which is one of the advantages of 3d printing.
Schein Heel Spur S90
When one of our technicians said he was struggling with a heel spur we felt it was a good time to try out one of our stock insoles.
The S90 Heel spur offers arch support as well as offloading of the central heel and plantar fascia insertion. When we get an update on how he is doing we will update the blog but due to the current Covid-19 restrictions test conditions have not been ideal.
