When you have flat feet, it’s a no-brainer that you’ll never go without orthotics for medial arch support. Your feet feel so bad without them that there’s negative reinforcement for forgetting to add them to your shoes.
The first thing that happens when you don’t wear arch support when you need it is your five foot bones (cuboid, navicular and three cuneiforms) in the area of your foot just in front of the heel will collapse. This doesn’t mean collapse as in breaking to pieces; the bones are solid and won’t do that. What it does mean is that the bones are supposed to form an arch in the foot and when they do, you can stand up straight, walk straight and run correctly without any undue pressure in any other part of the foot.
The medial arch of the foot extends from the back of the foot to your toes. It’s also called the medial longitudinal arch of the foot.
The big question is which types of medial arch support are best for you?
Here’s a chart that you can use when making that decision.
For Those Who Have Flat Feet
- Superfeet Black Premium Insoles
- Birkenstock Blue Footbeds
- Currex Sole RunFree Insoles Low Arch
- Superfeet MerinoWhite Premium Insoles
- Powerstep Original Orthotic Insoles
- Spenco Total Support Original Insoles
- Superfeet Black DMP Premium Insoles
- SOLE Thin Casual Footbeds
- CurrexSole BikePro Insoles Low Arch
- Sole Softec Response Custom Footbeds
- Sof Sole FIT Low Arch Insoles
- Superfeet Yellow Premium Insoles
- Sof Sole Plantar Fasciitis Orthotic Insoles
- FOOTDISC Hardboot Insoles-Low Arch
For Those Who Have Neutral Arch Feet
- Spenco Full Length Orthotic Arch Supports
- Superfeet Green Premium Insoles
- Sof Sole Airr Orthotic Performance Insoles
- Birkinstock Blue Footbeds
- New Balance Supportive Cushioning Insoles
- Superfeet Orange Premium Insoles
- Superfeet Berry Premium Insoles
- Superfeet Merino White Premium Insoles
For Those Who Have High Arched Feet
- Spenco Full Length Orthotic Arch Supports
- Superfeet Green Premium Insoles
- CurrexSole RunPRO insole (FootDisc)
- FOOTDISC PROACTIVE Insoles High Arch
- New Balance Supportive Cushioning Insoles
- Superfeet Orange Premium Insoles
- Superfeet Berry Premium Insoles
It’s important that you get the correct medial arch support that your feet need. If you have low arches, your arch is called a flexible arch, meaning that it collapses and your feet are overly flexible when you walk or run. On the other hand, a high arch is not flexible at all; the bones of the feet are fixed in a high arch structure with very little give.
When medial arch supports are created, there are ergonomic standards that have to be followed. The arch height needed for a person with flat feet is vastly different than the medial arch support for a person with high arches.
So do make sure that you get the right one! And when you do, your feet will tell you thank you!