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Tips for choosing the right carbon/glass fiber orthotic - Glass Fiber Shoe Plate Flat

Why would you choose a flat carbon graphite plate? When we first started to sell flat carbon graphite plates I didn't really see them as a very practical tool. They're primarily used to stiffen the shoe and my experience that was their sole use (what a pun, eh? sole use?). But it's been interesting how our customers have taken to them.

Tips for choosing the right carbon/glass fiber orthotic - molded turf toe plates

The molded turf toe plate is a carbon fiber turf toe plate that has a moderate arch molded into the orthotic. This differs from the flat turf toe plate that has no arch. Both have a Morton's extension beneath the great toe to limit range of motion of the great toe joint. What's the pro's and con's of each? Let's take a peak.

Tips for choosing the right carbon/glass fiber orthotic - flat turf toe plates

Let's start the conversation with the flat carbon fiber turf toe plate. A turf toe plate is an oddly shaped insert that has an extension that protrudes beneath the great toe joint. This extension, called a Morton's extension, is designed to limit the range of motion of the great toe joint. Why would we want to limit the range of motion of the great to joint?

Hanging your met pads out on the clothes line to dry.
Hanging your met pads out on the clothes line to dry.

Felt is probably not the best choice of metatarsal pad for someone who wants to wear the pad directly on the foot and take a shower. Felt is water absorbent and would remain damp for a few hours after a shower. The visual image I had was of a row of felt metatarsal pads on the clothes line, each with a clothes pin. Nah, poor choice.

Where's the peppermint?  How the dentists can teach the podiatrists a thing or two.
Where's the peppermint? How the dentists can teach the podiatrists a thing or two.

The history of dental hygiene is actually an interesting story. At the onset of the 20th century, dental hygiene was virtually non-existent. A green stick was used to scrape only the most obvious of plaque and toothpaste was scoffed. Toothpaste recipes that included burnt bread, pulverized brick and chalk were used as abrasives. But it wasn't until the brilliant Dr. Washington Sheffield of Connecticut discovered that if you put mint into the toothpaste, people actually enjoyed using it (what a concept, right?)