Pressure that keeps rebuilding
Callus and corns return within weeks when the pressure that created them is never addressed, no matter how well the skin is treated on the day.
Clinical & diabetic care
Orthotics & Insoles Fitted at Homein Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield& Across Hertfordshire
A one-hour appointment to assess how you stand and walk, identify where pressure is concentrated, and supply orthotic support that takes load off the painful area, all carried out in your own home by a qualified Foot Health Practitioner with over 20 years of nursing experience.
1 hour · From £100.00
Qualified FHP · 20+ years nursing · Fully insured with Balens Ltd
Why clients trust Alicegate Foot Health Practice
- Qualified Foot Health Practitioner (FHP)
- 20+ years of nursing experience
- Fully insured with Balens Ltd
- Home visits across Hertfordshire
- Cash or bank transfer on the day
About Orthotics
Orthotics are supportive insoles worn inside your shoes. Their purpose is simple: to change where load falls on the foot so that painful, overloaded areas carry less of it and the rest of the foot carries more.
The appointment runs for one hour. It begins with an assessment of your feet, your footwear and the way you stand and walk, and ends with orthotic support in your shoes and clear guidance on wearing them in.
Orthotics are most useful where pain has a mechanical cause: heel pain, forefoot pain, recurring callus over a single pressure point, or discomfort that builds through the day rather than being present from the first step.
Support works alongside treatment rather than replacing it. Where callus, corns or nail problems are also present, those are treated on their own merits, and the orthotic addresses the pressure that keeps causing them.
Why professional care matters
A shop-bought insole is a guess. An assessed orthotic is chosen because a specific area of your foot was found to be carrying more load than it should. The difference matters most where sensation or circulation is reduced, because the wrong support in the wrong place creates a new pressure point rather than relieving an old one.
Who this is for
- People with heel pain or plantar fasciitis that keeps returning
- Anyone with callus or a corn that rebuilds over the same pressure point
- Clients who find standing or walking uncomfortable after a short time
- Older clients whose foot shape has changed over the years
- Family members arranging support for a relative who is unsteady on their feet
When it is needed
- Hard skin returns to the same spot within weeks of every treatment
- The first steps of the morning are painful under the heel
- Discomfort builds the longer you are on your feet
- Shoes wear down unevenly on one side
- You have been advised that pressure needs redistributing
What happens if it is left untreated
Pain that spreads
Persistent foot pain changes how you walk, and altered gait commonly loads the knees, hips and lower back over time.
Reduced activity
People who find walking uncomfortable walk less, and in older clients that loss of activity affects balance, strength and independence.
Common mistakes we see
- Buying gel insoles online without knowing where the pressure actually falls
- Cutting an insole down so far that it no longer supports anything
- Wearing new orthotics all day from the first day
- Using an insole in a shoe with no depth, so the foot is simply pushed upwards
- Persisting with support that hurts rather than reporting it
How the appointment works, step by step
Step 1
History and symptoms
Where it hurts, when it hurts, how long it has been going on, what you have already tried, and any relevant medical history including diabetes are recorded.
Step 2
Foot and footwear assessment
Foot shape, skin and callus pattern, joint mobility and the wear pattern of your usual shoes are examined, because the shoe and the foot work as one unit.
Step 3
Pressure and gait observation
How you stand and walk is observed to identify which areas are carrying more load than they should.
Step 4
Fitting the support
Orthotic support is fitted into the shoes you actually wear, adjusted for comfort, and checked with you standing and walking.
Step 5
Wearing-in plan and review
You are given a graded wearing-in schedule, told what normal adjustment feels like and what is not normal, and a review interval is agreed.
What you get from the treatment
Load taken off the painful area
Support is placed where the assessment showed pressure was concentrated, not where a generic insole assumes it falls.
Slower return of hard skin
Relieving the pressure point reduces the rate at which callus and corns rebuild between appointments.
Fitted to your own shoes
The support is checked in the footwear you wear daily, at home, rather than in an unfamiliar clinic pair.
Safe for higher-risk feet
Where diabetes or reduced sensation is involved, fit is checked carefully so support relieves pressure rather than creating it.
Care that continues
The same practitioner treats your feet and reviews the orthotic, so what is working and what is not is known first-hand.
No travel required
Assessment, fitting and review all happen in your own home.
Orthotics in detail
Why pressure, not skin, is usually the problem
Callus is the foot's response to repeated load. Removing it relieves the pain immediately, and that relief is real, but the skin thickens again because the load that produced it has not changed.
Orthotic support changes the load. Where a single metatarsal head or a heel is carrying more than its share, redistributing that pressure slows the rate at which hard skin returns, which usually means longer, more comfortable intervals between treatments.
Footwear does half the work
An orthotic can only work inside a shoe that has room for it. Shoes with depth at the toes, a fastening that holds the foot back into the heel, and a sole that is not worn through on one side will get far more from support than a slip-on that is already too shallow.
During the appointment your usual footwear is looked at honestly. If a favourite pair cannot take support, you will be told that rather than sold something that will not fit into it.
Wearing new orthotics in
Support changes how the foot loads, and muscles and joints need time to adapt. A typical schedule starts at an hour or two a day and builds over a week or two towards full-day wear.
Mild awareness of the support underfoot is expected in the first days. Sharp pain, rubbing, numbness or any red mark that does not fade within twenty minutes of removing the insole is not expected, and should be reported so the fit can be adjusted.
Orthotics where diabetes is involved
Where sensation is reduced, an insole that presses in the wrong place may not be felt, and an unfelt pressure point is exactly how a diabetic foot ulcer begins.
For that reason, support for diabetic clients is fitted cautiously, checked against the skin at review, and combined with the structured checks of the diabetic foot assessment. Daily skin inspection continues while the orthotic is being worn in, and anything of concern is escalated rather than monitored.
Related treatments
- Heel Pain / Plantar Fasciitis | 1 hour, From £75.00
- Hard Corns & Calluses | 1 hour, From £75.00
- Diabetic Foot Assessment | 1 hour, From £85.00
- All treatments and prices →
Areas covered for home visits
- Hertfordshire
- Welwyn Garden City
- Hatfield
- St Albans
- Potters Bar
- Codicote
- Hertford
- Stevenage
- Borehamwood
- Welwyn
- Hemel Hempstead
- Hitchin
- Enfield
- Barnet
New to the practice? Read about the practice or meet Nse Murray.
Orthotics: your questions answered
- How much do orthotics cost?
- From £100.00 for a one-hour home visit covering assessment, fitting and wearing-in advice.
- How long does the appointment take?
- One hour, in your own home, anywhere in the covered Hertfordshire areas.
- Will orthotics cure my heel pain?
- They redistribute pressure away from the painful area, which for mechanical heel pain often makes a substantial difference. What is realistic in your case is explained at the assessment rather than promised in advance.
- Can I use them in more than one pair of shoes?
- Support can usually be moved between pairs of similar depth. Very shallow or open footwear is generally unsuitable, and that will be pointed out at the fitting.
- How long before I notice a difference?
- Most people notice a change within the first two to three weeks of consistent wear, once the wearing-in period is complete.
- Are orthotics safe if I have diabetes?
- Yes, with care. Fit is checked closely, skin is inspected at review, and you are asked to check your feet daily while the support is being worn in.
- Do you cover my area?
- Home visits cover Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield, St Albans, Potters Bar, Codicote, Hertford, Stevenage, Borehamwood and the surrounding Hertfordshire area.
- How do I pay?
- By cash or bank transfer, on the day of your appointment or soon after treatment.
Comfortable Feet, Treated ProperlyWithout Leaving Your Home
Tell Nse what is troubling you and she will call you back to arrange a convenient appointment. Qualified Foot Health Practitioner, 20+ years of nursing experience, fully insured with Balens Ltd.