Flat feet and footbeds

My flat feet's best friend

I was born with flat feet. My father and eldest brother has it. My feet hurt after a whole day of walking on flip flops or flats. My mom used to say I have the Chua feet and could not have been mistakenly exchanged in the hospital nursery.
 I’ve taken up running for a year now and I found that i would form blisters at the base of my big toe on both feet and my bunions have grown crazy big. That’s when i had to seriously consider thinking of going to a podiatrist. It just so happened that there is only one podiatrist in the whole country and she resides here seasonally (she is U.S. based) plus her clinic is so far away from Makati. I instead considered getting insoles. After a lot of googling i settled for Sole insoles. The testimonies were glowing and i figured it wouldn’t hurt to try them since some users from the U.S. military actually raved about it.

After a year of use here’s what i think about Sole(s):
1.) It’s expensive – I ordered it online last May and spent about 2k Philippine pesos after conversion (USD 46). I say expensive in comparison to New Balance (NB) insoles that i spent around Php 1,500  for

2.) It is well made and sturdy – okay here comes the caveat to my statement above regarding the price. It is more expensive than NB (it’s the only other insole i tried have no other brands to compare it to) BUT it gives you bang for your buck as they say. The top sheet material has little sign of wear and tear i can still see the Dean Karnazes design and signature is still clearly printed (see pic) - this even if i’ve been using the insole in running for the past year. Including 2 trail runs that has seen it muddy and

The sole has retained its shape and has not given in to the force of my feet a big feat considering the amount and length of abuse i’ve given it these 12 months. In fact i think it has changed my gait – more about this later.

It’s actually a moldable sole – meaning you can stick it in the oven and step into it while in a neutral positon to mold to your feet. But i’ve opted not to do that instead relying on the natural arch shape of the product – i needed it after all.

3.) Provides just the right amount of volume to function as an effective insole – it’s not overly thick like the NB insoles and so i wouldn’t have to buy larger size shoes just to accomodate it. It’s just about the same volume as the insoles of your running shoes. A little thicker perhaps but it is mostly due to the stiff arch support.

4.) Arch support hits the sweet spot – it’s rock steady and supports your arch just like your Birkenstocks but with a bit more flexibility so as not to make your arches sore when running. It has banished my blisters completely and has changed the way i run to some extent. The balls of my feet don’t hurt as much because it has supported my feet so it does not roll in as much as it used to.

There really are no motion control running shoes available in the stores here. So a stability shoe plus Sole can be a good substitute for flat footed running fiends like me.

5.) Trains your feet to run more efficiently – running with these insoles for a year has trained my feet to roll in less prominently. I’ve just recently taken out the soles using my new New Balance Shoes and have found that the wear and tear on my running shoes are now happening on the outer side instead of the inner side typical of people with flat feet.

The good news is it’s now available locally – i’ve seen it in Powerbikes Rockwell. Although they carry a few models and are selling the Dean Karnazes insoles for 4,500 Php.

If you can, it may still be more economical to order it online and have a friend in the U.S. hand-carry it back for you.

Check out www.yoursole.com