A sole assembly for an article of footwear has a first portion having a lower ground engaging surface, an upper surface, and a recess formed in the upper surface. A second portion is seated in the recess in the first portion and has an upper surface. The second portion is formed from a first foam material prepared by a reaction product of a composition having about 10 to about 100 phr of a hydrogenated copolymer and about 10 to about 90 phr of a copolymer of ethlylene and an alpha olefin, the alpha olefin having up to 20 carbon atoms. The first foam material has a hardness of 25 to 45 Asker C and a density of less than 0.18 g/cm3.

An arch cookie includes a heel portion, a pair of arch supports extending from the heel portion toward a toe region, the pair of arch supports being of unequal length, the heel portion and the pair of arch supports being continuous, and at least one window disposed in at least one of the heel portion and the pair of arch supports.

A mobility enhancement device has an elongate strap of flexible material and a slide member having an inner face secured to a first surface of the strap and an outer smooth surface configured for sliding engagement with a floor surface. The strap is secured in a loop about a user's foot or footwear with releasable fastener devices associated with opposite end portions of the strap secured together and the slide member positioned to face downward from a ventral region of the sole of the foot or footwear so that the outer smooth surface is positioned for sliding engagement with a floor surface during ambulation or transfer.

A mobility enhancement device has an elongate strap of flexible material and a slide member having an inner face secured to a first surface of the strap and an outer smooth surface configured for sliding engagement with a floor surface. The strap is secured in a loop about a user's foot or footwear with releasable fastener devices associated with opposite end portions of the strap secured together and the slide member positioned to face downward from a ventral region of the sole of the foot or footwear so that the outer smooth surface is positioned for sliding engagement with a floor surface during ambulation or transfer.

A multilayer orthotic/orthosis has a cover layer, a shell layer and a posting layer. The shell layer is formed of a thermoplastic having a moldable temperature. The rigidity of the shell layer, and in particular the rigidity of the thermoplastic is chosen to be of a magnitude to support the portion of the individual at temperatures below the moldable temperature. The shell layer, preferably the thermoplastic, has a flexibility above the moldable temperature to mold the shell layer into a shape to support the portion of the individual. The shell layer has two layers of woven polyester fibers (“scrim”) on the top and bottom. The scrim gives the plastic strength and prevents it from stretching excessively when molding. These unique properties make the material well suited for stacking multiple layers without having excessive bulking of material top lines. Both sides of the shell layer are coated with a layer of hot melt cement/glue/adhesive for easy attachment of various layers or other materials. One side of the shell layer is connected to one side of the cover layer. A posting layer is arranged on a side of the shell layer diametrically opposite the cover layer, and provides support for the orthotic/orthosis in order to prevent rocking, especially when the orthotic/orthosis is for the foot of the individual.

A multilayer orthotic/orthosis has a cover layer, a shell layer and a posting layer. The shell layer is formed of a thermoplastic having a moldable temperature. The rigidity of the shell layer, and in particular the rigidity of the thermoplastic is chosen to be of a magnitude to support the portion of the individual at temperatures below the moldable temperature. The shell layer, preferably the thermoplastic, has a flexibility above the moldable temperature to mold the shell layer into a shape to support the portion of the individual. The shell layer has two layers of woven polyester fibers (“scrim”) on the top and bottom. The scrim gives the plastic strength and prevents it from stretching excessively when molding. These unique properties make the material well suited for stacking multiple layers without having excessive bulking of material top lines. Both sides of the shell layer are coated with a layer of hot melt cement/glue/adhesive for easy attachment of various layers or other materials. One side of the shell layer is connected to one side of the cover layer. A posting layer is arranged on a side of the shell layer diametrically opposite the cover layer, and provides support for the orthotic/orthosis in order to prevent rocking, especially when the orthotic/orthosis is for the foot of the individual.

Insole (34) for footwear, the insole (34) comprising an anterior arch support (48); and an anterior reinforcing bridge (54) having a raised section (56) for providing resistance against compression of the anterior arch support (48).

The invention provides an insole apparatus for use with an item of footwear. The insole includes upper and opposing lower faces, the upper face being arranged to interface with the sole of a user's foot, in use. The upper face includes two or more areas or regions wherein a portion or portions of the surface of the upper face is raised relative to the remainder of the upper face, the areas or regions positioned to target at least two regions of cutaneous mechanoreceptors in the user's foot, in use. Also provided is an item of footwear including an insole apparatus as herein defined.

A foot orthotic designed to unweight the ball of the foot, or more precisely the foot region of one or more of the five metatarsal heads, to alleviate pain while walking or standing. Using a connector from the foot orthotic to a sulcus bar provides a reproduceable front to back position of the sulcus bar relative to the foot orthotic. In certain aspects of the invention the connector provides further unweighting of the metatarsal heads, and also ensures a specific custom position of the sulcus bar throughout the foot orthotic fabrication process. Various methods of manufacturing an orthotic are also disclosed.

A foot orthotic designed to unweight the ball of the foot, or more precisely the foot region of one or more of the five metatarsal heads, to alleviate pain while walking or standing. Using a connector from the foot orthotic to a sulcus bar provides a reproduceable front to back position of the sulcus bar relative to the foot orthotic. In certain aspects of the invention the connector provides further unweighting of the metatarsal heads, and also ensures a specific custom position of the sulcus bar throughout the foot orthotic fabrication process. Various methods of manufacturing an orthotic are also disclosed.