Performance Concepts Chat – Episode 018 – Sean MacMillan: Putting Your Foot Down – Orthotics & Footwear Fundamentals

This episode of our Performance Concepts Chat podcast is with Sean MacMillan, a Canadian Pedorthist who has worked for over 25 years in the field of orthotics, bracing and shoe technology. I have had the pleasure of knowing Sean for just over 17 years and wanted to dig deeper into the history and techniques behind orthotics for athletes. Having been exposed to orthotics as a young athlete in the early 1980s, I was always curious as to how practitioners ‘fit’ the orthotics to not only the athlete’s feet, but also a desired movement outcome. In my history, almost all the practitioners that prescribed and designed orthotics for me took measurements while I was either lying on my back or standing. However, I had been prescribed orthotics because of injuries I had incurred while running. It simply didn’t make sense to me, even as a young athlete.

My discussion with Sean dives headfirst into these types of questions and helps to give a better idea of how he makes decisions when producing orthotics for individual athletes. It appears that there is both a science and art behind making orthotics that make people happy. While there may be good structural reasons for providing orthotics to athletes, if the orthotic doesn’t feel ‘right’ in an athlete’s shoe, it doesn’t matter.

Sean is based out of Kelowna, BC, Canada and is the owner and operator of the OrthoQuest Pedorthic and Rehabilitation clinic and store. You can access more information about Sean and Orthoquest at OrthoQuestPedorthics.com. Orthoquest can be followed on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Derek M. Hansen

Founder at StrengthPowerSpeed.com

Derek is an International Sport Performance Consultant that has been working with athletes in speed, strength and power sports since 1988. He has worked with some of the top performers in the world as a coach and a consultant – including Olympic medallists, world record holders, Canadian National team athletes, and professional athletes from numerous sports. He also serves as a performance consultant to numerous professional teams and NCAA Division 1 programs throughout North America.

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