Orthotic shoe and insole assemblies

Abstract

An orthotic shoe sole assembly and an orthotic insole are disclosed herein. The orthotic shoe assembly includes a shoe sole having an exposed surface and at least one exposed cavity accessible via the exposed surface. The at least one exposed cavity includes a central region and a plurality of channels extending from the central region. A resilient member is removably positioned within the central region of the exposed cavity. The resilient member is configured to resiliently expand into at least one of the plurality of channels of the exposed cavity. The orthotic insole is removably positioned to selectively conceal the exposed cavity of the shoe sole and the resilient member. The orthotic insole includes a central axis member for supporting a foot along its central axis.

1 . An orthotic shoe assembly comprising:
 a shoe sole having an exposed surface and at least one exposed cavity accessible via the exposed surface, said at least one exposed cavity including a central region and a plurality of channels, each channel extending from the central region of the exposed cavity toward an outer boundary of the shoe sole;   a resilient member removably positioned at least partially in the central region of the exposed cavity, the resilient member formed from a viscoelastic material having a compressed state and a free state; and   an insole removably positioned to selectively conceal the exposed cavity of the shoe sole and the resilient member;   wherein the resilient member expands into at least one of the plurality of channels of the exposed cavity when in the compressed state and the resilient member does not enter the plurality of channels of the exposed cavity when in the free state.   
     
     
         2 . The orthotic shoe assembly of  claim 1 , wherein said central region of said at least one exposed cavity corresponds to a hindfoot region or a forefoot region of the shoe sole. 
     
     
         3 . A kit comprising the orthotic shoe assembly of  claim 1  and a plurality of other resilient members, each resilient member having a pre-determined density, wherein at least two of the resilient members have different densities and each resilient member includes indicia corresponding to its respective density thereby enabling an end user to select and install an appropriate resilient member based upon the density of the selected resilient member. 
     
     
         4 . An orthotic insole assembly for stabilizing a foot along a central axis of the foot, the assembly comprising:
 a molded outer shell that is sized and shaped for resting in a shoe, said molded outer shell having an interior region; and   a central axis member oriented along the central axis and at least partially encapsulated within the interior region of said molded outer shell, said central axis member including a heel cup portion, a central portion extending from the heel cup portion along the central axis for supporting an arch of a foot, and a forefoot portion extending from the central portion along the central axis;   wherein said central axis member is coupled to the outer shell and is formed from a material having a lower elasticity than a material of the molded outer shell for stabilizing a foot along the central axis.   
     
     
         5 . A unitized orthotic insole for stabilizing a foot along a central axis of the foot comprising:
 a shell portion having an exterior surface that at least partially defines a sole contacting surface that is positioned for contact with a sole of a shoe and a foot contacting surface that is positioned for contact with a foot; and   a central axis portion integrally formed with the shell portion and disposed between the sole contacting surface and the foot contacting surface of the shell portion, said central axis portion defining a heel cup portion, a central portion extending from the heel cup portion along the central axis for supporting an arch of a foot, and a forefoot portion extending from the central portion along the central axis;   wherein a density of the central axis portion of the unitized orthotic insole is greater than a density of the shell portion of the unitized orthotic insole for stabilizing a foot along the central axis.