Orthotic Instructions

Remove the insole from your running shoe and hold it against the bottom of your foot like you were standing on it.

Take a pen and roughly outline the arch of your foot on the underside of the insole. If you have a sore forefoot (metatarsal heads) make sure that you come forward with your arch so that it ends just behind the ball of your foot (metatarsal heads).

 Cut a piece of foam in a roughly semicircular shape so that the straight edge sits toward the inside of your foot. Tape it to the underside of your insole with masking tape, put it back in your shoe and take a short run of a couple of blocks. It should feel a little high or odd but if it is painful or really uncomfortable take the insole back out, remove the masking tape and foam and cut it down or back where it feels too high.

If you feel like you need more support in the higher part of your arch cut a smaller semicircle and center it underneath the larger semicircular arch support. Tape them down with the masking tape-take a run-see how it feels. If it feels just right take a piece of duct tape and tape over both of the stacked supports wrapping around to the inside so that it won’t slide out toward the middle. You can tape them both separately as I did here because I did them at different times-though I think it works best when you put duct tape over the sandwich as a whole. You may even need 2 pieces of duct tape.

This can be helpful for plantar fascitis, heel spur, metatarsalgia, and patellofemoral syndrome (runner’s knee pain from patellar dynamic malalignment).