Why My Feet Still Hurt Even Though I Have Arch Supports

Here are a few things that cause foot pain

Ligament Laxity 

There are a lot of bones in your foot! 26 to be exact. These bones are held together by ligaments which are meant to be ridge enough to stabilize your 26 foot against the force of walking, running, and or lifting. Unfortunately, these ligaments can stretch out over time causing your foot to become so flexible it is unable to absorb the impact forces of walking, running, or lifting. Overstretched ligaments are painful, they hard pull on bones trying to keep the joint together leading to bone spurs, tendonitis, or joint dislocations. 

Muscle Weakness 

When your ligaments are not rigid enough to hold your bones in place then your muscles try to take over. Unfortunately, it requires a lot of strength to stabilize the  26 bones in your foot.  Eventually, foot muscles will become overworked causing them to be swollen and painful to touch or to use. Another issue that can cause pain in you foot with arch supports are….

Tight Muscles 

I know this sounds counter intuitive since I just said your foot could be too flexible.  However, as your foot becomes flexible your gastrocnemius and soleus (the muscle in the back of your lower leg) are no longer stretched with each step allowing them to get tight. Picture this… As you are moving your weight from the back of your foot during “heel strike” to what should be “push off”, a flexible foot turns out bending in your foot, not your ankle. Stretching your foot, not your gastrocnemius and soleus. 

This is the biggest reason your feet hurt when you start to use arch supports. The arch supports stiffen up your feet causing your foot to become ridge again; however your calves are still tight. This combination of a stiff foot and stiff ankles makes it uncomfortable to walk. Now let’s talk about your walking form

Walking Form 

When your ligaments are loose and foot muscles are not strong enough to withstand your weight while walking or other activities. Then your aches fall, which cause your knees and hips to roll inward. These minor changes in alignment over time cause joint stress from your feet all the way to your lower back. Since these changes don’t happen overnight you never notice that the way you walk has changed until you have significant pain. Pain that stops you from enjoying your life. 

Typically, the location of the pain would be either in a bunion, plantar fasciitis or tight achilles tendon.  Arch supports can definitely help all of these conditions. However, if you just support the arch, which takes the work of the ligaments, without strengthening, stretching and changing the way you walk. That arch support will just cause a different pain, frequently described as walking with a rock or ball in your shoe. 

I have heard complaints from people with custom support, over-the-counter supports, and with athletic shoes. They feel as though they are walking on a ball, their feet ache at the end of the day, and even that their feet swelled after using the new supports. 

Here are 3 ways to prevent this reaction

1. Start off only wearing the new supports for 1-2 hours, then increase by an hour or two, if you don’t have any negative effects. (pain, swelling etc)
2. When you get your first arch supports, depending on how much your arches drop when you are standing, you want to start with a mild change. If you jump straight to the full change your body will react, we don’t tend to respond well to change let alone a huge change. 
3. Work with a physical therapist to help you improve not only your foot strength and flexibility but also your knee and hip strength and flexibility to maximize the benefits of the arch supports.  This holistic approach will help you recover fully, getting you back to your favorite activities without limitations. 

If this is the type of care you are looking for and you are ready to start now, feel free to click the button below that says “Ask about cost & availability”, you will fill out a quick form and I will call you back to answer your questions and get you started on your journey back to your favorite activities. 

If you have already tried working with a professional and you didn’t get the results you were looking for and you are skeptical that working with me would be any different I offer a Free Discovery Session. This is a 20 minute in-office session where you can ask questions about your specific foot pain and concerns.  This gives us time to meet face to face and make sure we are a good fit.