Are your feet hurting after your run? Have you noticed your ankles and knee are painful after even a short walk? If you said yes to these questions, then you might be considering using a gel shoe insert.
Foot pain is a common problem for Americans; it’s reported that 77% of U.S. adults have experienced foot pain at some time in their lives. In many cases, people turn to gel shoe inserts to help ease their foot, ankle and knee pain. However, gel inserts do have several disadvantages that you should seriously consider before you use them, and you may also want to think about choosing a custom orthotic instead.
These are three disadvantages of gel shoe inserts
The intense marketing campaigns by companies like Dr. Scholl’s might lead you to believe that gel shoe inserts are the best solution for your pain. Unfortunately, you might not know about the disadvantages that these inserts have. A few of these disadvantages include:
- Higher weight — Gel is a dense material that makes it great for absorbing shocks. But this density also means it weighs more than materials like memory foam. The weight difference may not seem like much, but even small increases in the weight of your shoes can negatively impact your walking and running performance.
- Lack of heel support — Supporting the heel properly is vital to moving with less pain. Unfortunately, many gel inserts don’t have structures that help support the heel, so they won’t help issues like ankle instability.
- Lack of customization — Although most store-bought gel inserts can be trimmed to fit the length of your shoes, that’s the extent of how much you can customize them. In contrast, custom orthotic inserts can be fully customized to your feet.
Avoid the disadvantages of gel shoe inserts with custom orthotics from Biocorrect
Are you looking for an option that doesn’t have the disadvantages of store-bought gel inserts? Our team at Biocorrect is primed to help you find the custom orthotics to meet your needs. We can perform an exhaustive evaluation of your feet and gait if you come in to see us. Rather not leave home? That’s OK! We also offer free in-home home impression kit that involves:
- Filling out a health history form.
- Taking some digital pictures of your feet.
- Using the provided instructions to complete your foam impression.
Contact us today for more information about our custom orthotics or to schedule an initial foot evaluation appointment.
