General suggestion: could people specify whether they have flat feet or high arches, etc., and give more…

You’re going to get people’s preferences as the answers to your question. Each foot is different and comes with different strengths and sensitivities. Also, being continually told to “strengthen” something can be frustrating in the process of trying to figure out your next step. Literally. Please go to a Fleet Feet to get professionally fitted for a pair of shoes and inserts to accommodate your needs. They will make catered recommendations based on what’s happening with your feet/body. This reduces the guessing game of what might work for you and your needs. FF stands behind their product and has a “happy fit guarantee” return/exchange policy that gives you 60 days in case you need to make an adjustment with your purchase after you’ve worn the product. Nowhere else does that.

Strengthen your arch!

High arches can definitely make finding the right over-the-counter insole challenging. Many retail insoles provide a predetermined amount of arch support, and if that support is too aggressive or doesn’t match your foot properly, it can actually create more discomfort instead of helping. With high arches, I prefer having insoles made and adjusted on the spot so you can stand and walk in them immediately. That allows the support to be fine-tuned based on how your feet actually respond rather than sending measurements to a third-party lab and hoping the finished product is comfortable. People with high arches can also place more pressure on the ball of the foot. When you’re consistently walking with more pressure toward the front of your feet, it can affect the way you walk and how your body absorbs and distributes force. That altered gait can place additional stress on the knees, hips, and lower back and may contribute to pain in those areas. The increased pressure on the ball of the foot may also contribute to issues such as calluses, corns, hammertoes, bunion discomfort, or irritation around the metatarsal area. A properly fitted custom insole can include a metatarsal lift to help redistribute that pressure and provide better support. Your Morton’s toe—where the second toe is longer than the big toe—is also worth mentioning during a fitting, but I would definitely want to evaluate the entire foot rather than choosing an insole based on that feature alone. Once the feet are properly supported, you usually have much more flexibility when choosing shoes. Trying to find a shoe alone to correct everything can become frustrating and expensive because the shoe still isn’t customized to your individual foot structure. I hope this helps!

My podiatrist said I had perfect arches and looked surprised that he couldn't blame them for my PF.