What Is An Arch Support

We have all seen the commercials about "back pain" or "tired feet" being relieved by an arch support. Companies offer new "supports" or gel pads or even shoe inserts that are promised to help alleviate thes problems. If you walk down an isle in a grocery store or a pharmacy, there are hundreds of choices that can be utilized to "improve the comfort of your feet". The question is what do they do and can they really help your feet.

From an early age, I have had "flat feet" but have never had foot pain or problems. I am very active and wear sensible shoes, but don't add these extra pads or shoe inserts to make me comfortable. What makes the difference why some feet are normally comfortable and others are not?

The foot functions primarily as a mode of gait (the act of walking or running). It is designed to work ideally in a position called neutral, where all the joints, muscles and ligaments align to produce the best motion with the least amount of stress on any part of the foot or leg. When you talk with someone about your walking or running, they will use terms like pronation or supination. Pronation is the act of flattening your arch or rolling the foot towards the arch (away from the neutral position). Supination is the act of increasing your arch or rolling the foot away from the arch (again, away from the neutral position). In both cases, the foot fails to function in the ideal conditions and can cause problems.

An "arch support" is a product from the shelf that is designed to support the foot with an arch. It doesn't account for the neutral position, because it is designed for the average foot, not your individual foot. In a high arched foot, these are usually insufficient to support the foot. In a low arched foot (like mine), the foot is forced into the supinated position and usually leads to arch pain.

Gel inserts or other softer pad products are usually just as helpful. They add only padding to the shoes, but fail to modify the way the foot functions. They are therefore usually only comfortable for days and then flatten and fail to provide benefit.

Orthotics, custom appliances for the shoes to replace arch supports or shoe inserts, produce much more benefit. They should be created custom for your foot by cast molds, foam press boxes, or digital scans. If produced correctly, they will modify the function of the foot to the neutral (or ideal) position allowing they muscles, tendons, joints and ligaments to work simultaneously to produce locomotion. So this could be described as the true arch suppport, but an orthotic is actually so much more.

Some products have taken the arch support theory to a new level by providing some of the customization of orthotics to an off-the-shelf item. The Sole Footbeds have been the best product I have found to provide this functionality in a semi-custom (heat moldable) product. Although these are not orthotics, they will provide a 6 month product that can support the foot, while helping it function closer to the neutral position.

So, what is an arch support? Usually it is a product that wants to be an orthotic but doesn't work for 90% of the population since each of our feet are different. Only a small precentage of the population has the average foot, all the rest of us are flatter or higher arched than the average and need something designed or customized for our foot. For additional information visit us at http://www.utahfootdoc.com/.

Dr Brandt R Gibson, DPM
Mountain West Foot & Ankle Institute
36 North 1100 East, Suite B
American Fork, UT 84003
(801)756-0765
www.UtahFootDoc.com