An article of footwear is configured to be worn so as to at least partially cover a wearer's foot. The footwear includes at least one optical fiber on an internal surface of the footwear. The at least one optical fiber is configured to project radiation having a therapeutic wavelength through the at least one optical fiber and toward at least one of the wearer's foot, ankle or leg when the footwear is being worn so as to at least partially cover the wearer's foot.

Systems and methods of determining spinal column and or leg length abnormalities includes taking digital photographs of multiple data points along the length of the person's spine and legs, and sending the photographs to a computer with a processor programmed with software that analyzes the photographs to determine leg length and spinal column length and spinal column curvature. The data regarding the leg length and curvature is sent to a medical professional for diagnosis and treatment of the patient.

Systems and methods of determining spinal column and or leg length abnormalities includes taking digital photographs of multiple data points along the length of the person's spine and legs, and sending the photographs to a computer with a processor programmed with software that analyzes the photographs to determine leg length and spinal column length and spinal column curvature. The data regarding the leg length and curvature is sent to a medical professional for diagnosis and treatment of the patient.

An insole for an article of footwear includes an insole support and a side-emitting optical light tube on the insole support member. The insole support member includes a top surface and a bottom surface where the top surface faces towards a wearer’s foot when the insole is positioned in the article of footwear and the article of footwear is worn. The side-emitting optical light tube is configured to project radiation having a therapeutic wavelength through the side-emitting optical tube and toward the wearer’s foot. The side-emitting optical light tube includes a side-emitting optical fiber and a jacket made from a light-transmissive material at least partially surrounding the side-emitting optical fiber.

An insole for an article of footwear includes an insole support member and a side-emitting optical fiber fixed with respect to the insole support member. The insole support member is made from a cushioning material and includes a top surface and a bottom surface. The side-emitting optical fiber is configured to project radiation having a therapeutic wavelength along the length of and outwardly through a side of the side-emitting optical fiber and toward a wearer’s foot when the insole is positioned in the article of footwear and the article of footwear is worn. At least a majority of an uppermost surface of the side-emitting optical fiber is disposed beneath a foot-contacting surface that is in contact with the wearer’s foot when the insole is positioned in the article of footwear and the article of footwear is worn.

An insole for an article of footwear includes an insole support member and a side-emitting optical fiber fixed with respect to the insole support member. The insole support member is made from a cushioning material and includes a top surface and a bottom surface. The side-emitting optical fiber is configured to project radiation having a therapeutic wavelength along the length of and outwardly through a side of the side-emitting optical fiber and toward a wearer’s foot when the insole is positioned in the article of footwear and the article of footwear is worn. At least a majority of an uppermost surface of the side-emitting optical fiber is disposed beneath a foot-contacting surface that is in contact with the wearer’s foot when the insole is positioned in the article of footwear and the article of footwear is worn.

A semi-rigid foot orthotic can have 3-axis accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, and strain gauges embedded in one or more flexible regions along with a microprocessor and wireless transmitter. Data from the sensors can be used to track the gait cycle. Data on the flexing, bending, or rotating of portions of the orthotic are processed and compared to ideal or data from other runs to rate the effectiveness of the orthotic. The orthotic and the sole of the shoe have relative freedom of motion between them. By doing a 3D comparing of the location, motion and orientation of the shoe from the same information for at least one orthotic region; determining shoe-to-orthotic relative motion. Modifications or adjustments can be made to improve the user-experience. The computation can involve either or both of a cloud based server and an external hand-held device in wireless communication with the orthotic.

A semi-rigid foot orthotic can have 3-axis accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, and strain gauges embedded in one or more flexible regions along with a microprocessor and wireless transmitter. Data from the sensors can be used to track the gait cycle. Data on the flexing, bending, or rotating of portions of the orthotic are processed and compared to ideal or data from other runs to rate the effectiveness of the orthotic. The orthotic and the sole of the shoe have relative freedom of motion between them. By doing a 3D comparing of the location, motion and orientation of the shoe from the same information for at least one orthotic region; determining shoe-to-orthotic relative motion. Modifications or adjustments can be made to improve the user-experience. The computation can involve either or both of a cloud based server and an external hand-held device in wireless communication with the orthotic.

An arch-adaptive smart insole according to the present invention includes: an insole cushion foam (10) which has a shape corresponding to the shape of the foot and which is made of an elastic foam; and an arch spring module (20) which is loaded in a first loading well (11) of the insole cushion foam (10), and which supports the arch of the foot by means of the interposition of a closing part (18) of the insole cushion foam (10) for closing the upside of the first loading well (11), wherein the arch spring module (20) comprises at least a first coil spring (21) and a second coil spring (22), and the first coil spring (21) having a diameter smaller than that of the second coil spring (22) is positioned inside the second coil spring (22).