When Orthotics Don’t Fit Your Dress Shoes
It may not be too hard for guys to find shoes—even dress styles—with removable insoles or enough room so your custom orthotics can fit inside. For women, it is a bit more difficult. For one thing, in a warm climate like ours, women often wear open and strappy-style shoes, many of which have narrow soles and need to be snug so they don’t slip around on your feet. For another, most inserts are not made to work with high heels.
At Advanced Foot & Ankle Specialists of Arizona, we can think of three ways to work around this:
- Don’t wear dress shoes. Yes, we know that’s probably not an option. The dress code at your office may require them, and if not, there are always parties, special events, and evenings out where you would feel dowdy wearing anything but heels. So, okay you can wear them once in a while for short periods, as long as you wear your sensible shoes and orthotics most of the time.
- Look for a store or online retailer that offers ultra-thin orthotics made to fit in dress shoes. If you can find a pair that has similar support and cushioning features to your custom pair, this may be a possibility for short-term, occasional use, or even a full day at the office now and then. There are even a few special inserts for heels that may work for you.
- Bring your favorite dressy shoes in to our office and ask us to design a custom orthotic to fit them. This can be a challenge, but it is possible to handle some of the reasons your regular insoles don’t fit in your fancy shoes: the insole arches are too high; the device is too wide, too thick, or too tight in the toe; your shoes slip off your heel. We may be able to change the materials and make a thinner product that works better in these types of shoes.
We want you to make wise shoe choices, but if you need help to design a pair of custom orthotics for your stylish shoes, we can make it work. Contact Advanced Foot & Ankle Specialists of Arizona at (480) 963-9000. Our podiatrists provide superior care for all your foot issues.