[Karl2bdc]

Mike makes a very good point in that an orthotic is going to change the biomechanics of your body, which of course will affect the knees, the hips, the spine, etc. If you are 30 years old and are just getting orthotics for the 1st time, you might notice these symptoms, because your body has been one way for 30 years, and now you are trying to change things, even through minor tweeks. Is the knee pain bad...in a sense that it hurts and the body says...hey this isn't correct, then yes. But the orthotics are putting your body back the way it is suppose to be, thus taking your knees out of bad alignment and putting them in good alignment, of course which the body has to adapt to (the body thinks that the way it is, is the correct way). Now the body has been like that for 30 years, can it change overnight, in a day, in a week, in a month? I have to explain to 70 year old patients everday that Yes, that D3 degeneration in their spine is the body's protective mechanism, it is a normal response to abnormal stresses. Can I fix it, yes.....but it took 75 years to get like that...realistically, I am afraid you probably won't be around long enough for me to be able to reapir it, what we can do though is try and get you out of as much pain as possible." Before the orthotics if you didn't have knee pain, then I would almost guarantee that later in life you are looking at arthritis or other pathology in that joint, due to the altered biomechanics. Pain is the last thing in any condition to show up, and it is the first thing to go away. You may not be aware of the symptoms, but that doesn't mean there isn't an underlying condition that will sneak up on you later.