If you’ve been asking this question over the last week or two, you no doubt have been feeling foot pain when you wear high-heels.
We’ve all been warned before not to wear high-heels. We’ve heard that high heels damage our feet. When the heel is higher than the forefoot, that high-heel you are wearing changes the entire dynamic of walking. There’s more pressure on the ball of the foot instead of the equal dispersion of the impact of walking on the entire foot. It’s like you’re tiptoeing around all day long.
An arch support for high heels is also in the category of corrective shoe inserts or custom arch supports. Here’s the process for how to find one that meets the needs of your feet:
First know your arch type. Is your arch low, medium or high? To choose the best arch support for high heels, you’ll need to know what type of cushion arch supports you’ll need – ones for flat feet, medium arches, or high arches.
Besides your arch type, you should know if your feet are narrow or wide. Your feet could be much wider in the toes area than usual or wider throughout the entire toes and mid-foot. Likewise, you could have thin and narrow feet.
Secondly, take a good look at your pair of high-heeled shoes and answer the following questions:
- Is the insole in the shoe cushioned? Of course, you’ll want them cushioned but some shoes are so tight-fitting that you won’t be able to fit cushioned insoles that are also an arch support for high heels in the shoe.
- Is the insole in the shoe removable? If it’s not easily removable, then it’s not possible to put in new arch supports that are an entire full-length arched insole. In this case, you may have to add only the corrective shoe inserts known as Pedag Balance Arch Support Inserts or Pedag Step Arch Support Inserts. These are ones that have a peel back strip on them and you simply place them exactly in the shoe where you want them.
- Is the shoe constructed in such a way that there’s very little toe wiggle room?
This answer determines if you need a ¾ length arch support for high heels or a full length one. If you don’t have much wiggle room, a ¾ length arch support for high heels could be exactly what you need. Otherwise, choose from among the very thin arch supports for high heels that can give your toes room to wiggle without cramping them. The reason why this is so important is because hammertoes can form if toes are compressed in a small place. You won’t want the arch support you choose to compress your toes in any way.
Choose from any of the brand name products that are specifically made as an arch support for high heels:
- Superfeet Easy Fit Women’s Arch Support Insoles (one inch heels)
- Apara Gel Arch Appeal
- Powerstep SlenderFit Fashion Orthotics
- Superfeet Delux Women’s High Heel Arch Support Inserts (for high heels greater than one inch)
Visit TheInsoleStore.com to see our entire selection of arch supports. It is possible to wear high-heels and still have arch support all day long!