How do shoe insoles with arch support work?

Introduction

The feet serve as the foundation for the entire kinetic chain, which means that even the slightest imbalances when standing or walking can have significant consequences further up the body.

To maintain neutral and healthy alignment, it is essential to provide the feet with as much support as possible, allowing for even distribution of pressure and weight.

While every shoe comes with its own insole, these insoles may not always be suitable for the real needs of our feet.

This is where arch supports come in. Arch supports are designed to support all four arches of the foot, placing the feet in the ideal position and aligning the body from the feet up.

By integrating arch support into your daily life, you can easily correct misalignments that cause foot, ankle, knee, hip, or back pain.

Arch supports can be particularly effective when used as a preventive measure, before pain becomes an issue.

By providing adequate support for your feet, you can reduce the likelihood of experiencing pain or discomfort.

In summary, it is crucial to prioritize foot support and alignment for optimal health and wellness.

Who needs it?

If you spend long hours working on your feet, engage in an active lifestyle, or suffer from foot, knee, hip, or back pain, incorporating arch supports into your footwear can significantly improve your quality of life.

While arch supports are commonly recommended for people with flat feet or high arches, they are actually beneficial for anyone who seeks comfort and reduced muscle fatigue.

Plus, it reduces the likelihood of developing conditions such as plantar fasciitis, metatarsalgia, or stress fractures.

Whether you have flat feet, high arches, or no significant foot condition, arch supports can bring significant benefits to your comfort, performance, and overall well-being.

How does it work and why use it?

The bones, tendons, and ligaments in our feet work like a shock absorber, helping to distribute weight and cushion impacts. Despite their size, they do a lot of work and sometimes require additional support.

Proper arch support is essential in managing and preventing common foot, knee, hip, and back pain.

Arch supports provide better weight distribution by spreading pressure across the arches of the feet, rather than focusing it solely on the heels and balls of the feet.

This can reduce the risk of soft-tissue injuries to the foot over time. They can also improve shock absorption by providing a larger surface area to distribute forces. This is particularly crucial for high-impact sports and prolonged periods of walking.

When our feet lack proper arch support, our muscles must work harder to maintain stability and absorb impact.

This extra workload can lead to muscle fatigue and reduced gait speed, ultimately affecting our overall performance and comfort.

However, with arch support, the necessary support is provided to our feet, reducing the workload on our muscles and allowing for more efficient movement. This can lead to reduced muscle fatigue, increased gait speed, and improved performance.

Additionally, and reducing body effort to achieve maximal performance in the “incorrect” posture, we accumulate energy for other important factors.

In addition, by providing a better alignment and reducing the effort required to move in an optimal way, arch supports allow to conserve energy for other activities.

When to See a Doctor

It's important to pay attention to any foot pain, as it could be a sign of a more serious underlying issue. If you experience discomfort or pain when using new insoles, it's important to seek the advice of a medical professional.

Foot pain, as well as pain in the knees, hips, or back, should not be a result of using new insoles. If this is the case, it may be due to the insoles not promoting the best alignment for your feet.

It's also essential to listen to your body when adapting to new insoles.

If you find that your feet are not adjusting well to the insoles, or if the arch support feels too high or too low, you may need to consider getting more customized insoles that are tailored to your specific foot needs.

This can help ensure that you get the most benefit from your insoles and avoid any further discomfort or pain. However, you should keep in mind that your body may take some time to adapt to the orthosis.

Conclusion

In conclusion, studies have shown that using arch support insoles can have a positive impact on athletic performance, helping athletes to run faster, jump higher, and reduce the risk of injury.

Furthermore, by reducing muscle fatigue and improving gait speed, arch support can also help individuals who spend long hours standing or walking, such as healthcare workers, to feel more comfortable and reduce the risk of foot, knee, hip, or back pain.

By investing in proper arch support, individuals can help prevent a variety of foot-related problems. They can also alleviate chronic pain in the knees, hips, and back, which can be caused by imbalances and overcompensation due to poor foot posture.

Ultimately, providing the feet with proper arch support is an essential step in maintaining overall health and well-being. By taking care of our feet, we can improve our mobility, prevent injuries, and enjoy a more active and fulfilling lifestyle.

Author Bio

References

Ying Kwan, M. et al. (2022) “Intervention of arch support: A quantitative study,” Physical Ergonomics and Human Factors [Preprint]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.54941/ahfe1002593.

Naderi, A., Degens, H. and Sakinepoor, A. (2018) “Arch-support foot-orthoses normalize dynamic in-shoe foot pressure distribution in medial tibial stress syndrome,” European Journal of Sport Science, 19(2), pp. 247–257. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2018.1503337.