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Custom Orthotics vs Over-the-Counter Insoles

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I have orthotics and insoles FOR DAYS. No joke. I’ve had 9 pairs of custom orthotics made over the past 18 years. I have 17 pairs of over-the-counter insoles, though I’ve only worn 7 of them because the others just don’t work with my feet. I feel like I could own the most orthotics for one single person.

As I mentioned in my post on shoes, Heelthatpain insoles work best for me right now. Those are in the top right corner. Previously I wore Sofsole insoles, but I believe they discontinued that pair. I really wanted to like the Alines, but it seems like my foot does not agree with harder insoles right now. As for the magnetic insoles, I’m not sure what I was thinking. Maybe they had a really good infomercial :). I wore Powerstep Insoles for a while and they felt pretty good too. Insoles at the bottom right are made by Birkenstock.

otc-insoles

Custom orthotics did work for me at one point in my life- pre chronic foot pain. Those 3 custom pairs are on the bottom right and as you can tell the pair 2nd from the right got a lot of use and helped me get through many tennis matches. I really liked that pair because it was softer and made from cork.

custom orthodics made over the past 18 years

Thanks for reading!

The Chronic Foot Ninja

5 thoughts on “Custom Orthotics vs Over-the-Counter Insoles”

  2. By the way, this reminds me of a story: when I was in Italy, I was wearing these old, worn-down flip-flops equivalent in quality to a pair you would buy from Wal-mart. 3 days into the trip and after miles of walking, I began to experience severe shin / calf / forefoot pain. It took me 3 days of listening to Laura nag “just get some shoes.” I tuned her out and I starting rehabbing myself, but it helped marginally. It killed me to be wrong but I changed shoes and all my complaints dissipated within 6 hours. Moral of the story: listen to your wife and footwear selection is essential! Cheers!

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