Will My Feet Hurt After I Put a New Orthotic Insole Into My Shoe?

To answer this question, there’s a lot more to this picture than what meets the eye – or mind. The answer has to be dependent on some background information about orthotics, functional orthotics, and a little bit about foot anatomy.

Many people do not have perfect feet but they have feet that are close to perfect. The term ‘perfect feet’ means feet that are anatomically correct and in proper alignment. The bones, ligaments, muscles and tendons are all in the correct spot, of the correct length, breadth, width and thickness. They connect each other at the right angles.

For example, the long bone of the big toe points towards the big toe nail instead of off to the side. When it points to the side, there’s a bunion, and the inside arch will roll to the inside to accommodate this. This causes foot pain and flat feet.

Your Heel May Not Be Situated Straight on Your Feet

In many people, their heel doesn’t sit straight on their foot. It turns to one side or the other.  When the right heel turns inward to the left, the inner arch of the right foot falls. This predisposes the muscles of the foot to fatigue continually when walking and opens up the door to plantar fasciitis.

When the right heel turns outward to the right, the inner arch of the right foot gets lifted up too much and starts to turn the foot upward. This action makes the person walk on the edge of the foot. It’s another distortion of the foot in walking – and leads to foot pain.

In this situation, an orthotic insole could be added to the foot to support it to change the abnormal positioning of the heel to a more ‘normal’ position. When this occurs, the foot has to do some adjusting. During the adjustment period of time, there will be some foot discomfort and you may not be able to wear the orthotic insoles for more than a few hours a day.

As time goes on, your foot gets more and more accustomed to this functional orthotic insole, you can wear it a complete day and feel good; in fact, you feel better than ever.

Front Arch of the Feet Problems

Sometimes people who don’t have perfect feet have a fallen arch in the ball of their foot. This arch is called the metatarsal arch of the foot. When this arch falls, the small nerves between the long toe bones become exposed and compressed with each step of the foot.

Adding a functional orthotic insole to the shoe – one that is going to correct the functioning of the metatarsal arch will prop up that arch to the proper position. This relieves the compression on those small nerves. Again, with this type of foot issue, there will be an accommodation time period. Depending on the extent of the falling of the metatarsal arch in the foot, the time of accommodation may be a few weeks up to a few months.

Most Other Foot Problems Adjust to Orthotics Quickly

If your foot doesn’t have either a heel problem or a fallen metatarsal arch, your feet don’t need much time to accommodate to the custom made orthotic insoles. Your feet may feel instantly better once you take your first step with the orthotic insoles in your shoes.

Remember this process when you purchase your first set of custom made orthotic insoles.