Do Your Feet Hurt?! Here is How to Pick the Best Shoe Insole For Your Optimal Comfort

Let’s face it, when you work a job where you spend the entire day standing, your feet are going to hurt. It’s a reality of life. Not every shoe is as comfortable as you thought it would be when you first bought it and truly get it broken in. However, there are ways to make that pain go away almost entirely! I am talking of course about shoe insole inserts. But the real question is, how exactly do you Pick the Best Shoe insoles for you?

My name is Dave with Friendly Soles. A soon to be start up company selling premium insoles for shoes of all kinds. We currently do not offer any product as we have not launched yet, this will change very soon, but what we can offer at the moment is knowledge. The knowledge to help you pick the best insole for you, whether it be bought from us or any other company. And we do know a thing or two about insoles. So let’s get started!

Raised arch: this is where your foot almost has a bit of a bow shape to it on the bottom and it requires a raised insole to properly conform to it. This can contribute to greater foot pain when wearing shoes that don’t conform to your feet.

Normal arch: This is the most common of the three arches. This is considered the proper arch to have and is the easiest to obtain insoles for. Your foot is neither flat nor raised and is Essentially perfectly balanced and most shoes are made with this arch in mind. Still insoles are helpful when standing all day or if dealing with a nerve condition.

Low arch: This is where you have little to no arch and are what is sometimes referred to as flat-footed. This can not only cause pain in your feet when wearing non-conforming shoes, but also cause you to slap your feet on the ground when you walk. The correct insole in your shoe will make it easier to help mitigate this symptom a bit.

Above you can see an image of what the three arches look like. The best way to test your feet to figure out which arch you have is called the paper towel test. Simply take one or two sheets of a paper towel and lay it on the floor. Then dip your foot in water and immediately place it onto the paper towel. This will leave an imprint of your foots arch shape and will then allow you to determine which arch you have by comparing the arch to the above image. Some people may have issues from medical problems and we will go over each of these issues individually and tell you the best insoles to look for to alleviate pain from these conditions.

Next is the insole placement. You may have noticed when browsing online that there are some oddly shaped insoles available, some shorter known as 3/4 insoles, some longer known as full length insoles, and some downright odd looking. These are shaped to conform to different types of shoes and to let you customize where you want your support to be. Shorter insoles for example are generally meant for high heels, however they can also be used if you want more room in the front of regular sneakers to move your toes around. Regular full length insoles generally require you to remove the current insole that is in your shoe. They are meant to completely replace your shoes existing insole. Only very thin and flat insoles can be worn without replacing your shoes current insole. This gets us in to insole sizing. Most insoles will use a size range instead of a single size for each specific shoe. These insoles will generally say on the packaging something along the lines of “fits men’s shoes size 9-11) this is just an example but they are intended to be cut to fit your shoe properly.

Let’s go ahead and discuss the kinds of insoles required for each type of foot condition.

Standing: anyone that stands at work or for other reasons for long periods will likely experience pain in their feet at some point. The best type of insoles to deal with this pain are insoles made from cushioned foam and have great arch support for your foots arch type.

Plantar Fascitis & Arch Pain: to alleviate symptoms of this condition you should look for an insole that has orthotic arch support with comfortable cushioning either foam or for some people a sturdier material that provides better support such as cork.

Over-Pronation: this condition is a condition that appears naturally and is in reference to your foot rolling inward. You will want stiff or semi-stiff materials to aim support targeted towards the arch and heel of your foot.
Morton’s Neuroma: This is a nerve condition where a nerve generally in the forefoot of your foot is being pinched or damaged and causing pain in your foot. The best insoles for this condition are insoles with a metatarsal pad and additional support in the form of padding/cushioning for the front of your foot.

Metatarsalgia & Ball of Foot Pain: The best insole for this condition is one which incorporates a metatarsal pad and a decent amount of top layer cushioning.

Hallux Rigidus, Hallux Limitus, & Morton’s Toe: For these conditions you will want the stiffest insole you can possibly get. Seriously, the stiffer the better. You want to try and almost completely eliminate the built in bend that shoes are made with in the toe area.
Supination: This refers to the outward roll of the foot when taking a normal step and is the opposite of Over-Pronation. You will want to seek a semi-rigid, or rigid orthotic arch support to keep the foot aligned at all times when walking and standing.

Runners, Walkers, and People With Shin Splints: You generally will need a combination of flex-support and shock absorption in your insole. You will want either foam padded cushioning or gel support both at the heel and forefoot.

Heel Spurs & Heel Pain: For these conditions you will need an insole with plenty of cushioning at the heel of your foot. There are many products made for this both full length insoles and the shorter insoles also known as 3/4 insoles we mentioned earlier in the article.
Let’s go ahead and have a quick overview of the different types of insoles available.

Orthotic Arch Supports

These are arch supports that feature a rigid or semi-rigid support plate. We should address what rigid and semi-rigid means in this case. Semi-rigid means it is a stiff but also has some flexibility to it. A rigid platform has almost no flexibility, if any at all. We should also point out that softer does not always equal better and you should make sure you are getting the appropriate support for your foots arch type, and if you have one, medical condition.

Cushioned Arch Support

Cushioned Arch Support provides support heavily to the arches of your feet with a softer foam padding. These insoles usually have a fair amount of flexibility to them as well and come in full and 3/4 sizes.

Athletic Insoles

These insoles vary a lot based on which sport you intend to wear them for. They are all different and designed to meet the needs of that specific sport. A running insole will be focused on providing support to the heel and will have good forefoot padding as to where an insole designed for something like snowboarding or skiing will be target more at acting like a thermose and keeping the heat inside your shoe and will be comfortable in something large like snow boots. Essentially a form of insulation and comfort. These are also on average the most expensive insoles available on the market due to their complexity.

Gel Insoles

Not only are these comfortable but they have amazing shock absorption. Gel tends to weigh more than other materials but it is actually preferable for runners and people that play high impact sports such as tennis and basketball where you end up running on a concrete court all day.

Warm & Wool Insoles

These insoles essentially act as a thermose for your feet just like ones designed for winter sports do. Only they may simply be designed for winter wear rather than with a specific sport in mind. They do a great job of keeping your feet warm.

Heat Moldable Insoles

These insoles are special in the sense that they will immediately conform to your feet. All insoles will eventually conform to your feet after continued wear, but these are immediate for those that can’t or just don’t like to wait. You simply place these insoles in the oven for a bit, remove them, and step your feet down on them when they cool. It is a very satisfying process.

Heavy Duty Insoles

These insoles are targeted at people that work construction or factory jobs and do hefty manual labor. They can take abuse and deal with the conditions your line of work puts on them.

Memory Foam Insoles

These insoles are incredibly soft, comfortable, and conform to the shape of your foot over time. These are very popular with people looking for a softer insole.

High Heel Insoles

As the name suggests these are for use with high heels. These shoes can be very painful to wear and these insoles help alleviate that discomfort.

Kid’s Insoles

Insoles targeted at children made specifically for their feet. These come in essentially all the same varieties as adult Insoles, only smaller.

Insoles for Sandals

These are, as the name suggests, insoles for sandals. If your sandals are uncomfortable then these are what you need to resolve that issue and make them wearable.

We hope this article helped you in deciding which insole was right for you. It has been a pleasure being able to help you on your insole journey and hopefully we helped clear up the confusion surrounding which insole is right for you. Again, my name is Dave from Friendly Soles INC. If this information helped you out we hope you will remember us in the future and tell your friends and family about the brand that we will soon be launching as we will be carrying some of the best insoles money can buy all fitted to meet the needs of every condition listed in this article as we grow. We thank you for your support and hope you do share this article with those you know that could benefit from it’s contents. Have a fantastic day and cheers to no more foot pain! 😄