An Introduction to Insoles for Arthritis

8 July 2015

Arthritis can be a difficult condition to live with regardless of which joints it affects but arthritis in the feet can be especially debilitating. By restricting your mobility and leading to discomfort and pain when walking, arthritis in your feet can seriously affect your quality of life. Here at Shoe Insoles, we want to help you stand up to arthritis by providing you with one of our comforting and fully supportive insoles. With the right insole, you’ll soon find that living with arthritis needn’t stop you from doing the things you love and that pain management can be as simple as insole in, shoe on.

Which Arthritis Insole is Right for Me?

First and foremost, sufferers of arthritis should be wearing suitable footwear – no tight shoes or high heels. The ideal shoe for arthritis-stricken feet is a flat shoe with a small wedge heel.

The range of insoles designed to help and relieve feet suffering from arthritis is ever-expanding, with new styles and technology being developed every day. Many people swear by the healing powers of copper insoles, which harness the naturally restorative qualities of copper, encouraging the development of red blood cells in the feet, while others prefer the intense cushioning and shock absorption of a foam or gel insole.

Insoles can enhance the comfort of your feet, make for a better shoe fit and help prevent the onset of any further foot conditions, and with the majority offering versatile, low-profile relief, they needn’t alter your choice of footwear, either.

Fantastic Foam

The traditional and unchallenged material for insoles, foam has come a long way from the simple flimsy insoles of years gone by. Three layered, memorising, body-contouring, anti-blister, anti-bacterial, extra cushioning, extra rigid – whatever you demand of an insole, foam can deliver.

Foam insoles are often available in a range of densities to perfectly suit your needs, with lighter densities that provide cushioning for the everyday wearer or harder densities that prioritise strict support of feet that need to endure more. Many foam insoles are also easily trimmed to perfectly fit your shoe, combined with a contoured shape or additional memory foam, these insoles will soon have you supported and comforted exactly where you need it, with in-built stability to the areas of the foot affected by arthritis.

Glorious Gel

While foam is the market leader for insoles, some may find that they prefer the longer-wearing comfort of gel, as while foam insoles are hard-wearing, they naturally begin to lose their structure under the weight of the body towards the end of their life cycle where gel insoles literally bounce back after every step.

Gel is the go-to insole for many people who are looking to comfort sore feet, and is often the material of choice for sports brands catering to their active clientele. Naturally soothing, gel insoles can be infused with other healing elements such as essential oils and are, by virtue of being liquid-based, incredibly resilient to everyday wear and the bearing of weight. Gel insoles offer great shock absorption are ideal for lessening the stress of arthritic feet and act as a cushion that can mimic your movement. All of this helps to distribute the weight across your entire foot for less stress on key areas of the foot.

While gel will retain its cushioning for longer than foam, and is a good choice for those who want hard-wearing comfort, it is also heavier to wear in the shoe and may not provide the precise contouring or firm support of a foam base.

The Choice is Yours

Ultimately the choice of insole comes down to you and your feet. There is no certain way of knowing which insole will best suit your needs until you give it a try, and with a range of insoles combining both gel and foam, injecting air into the cushions here or lining them with suede over there, your perfect insole is undoubtedly out there, waiting to be found.

Visit the Shoe Insoles online store for a full range of Insoles for Arthritis.