On a normal day of sitting in my cubicle all day, my feet don't bother me. But if I'm my feet for a long time (shopping, travelling, etc.) my feet get very sore -- it starts with pain in my heels and balls of feet, and eventually even the muscles along the bottom of my arch hurt.

I have very high arches and no OTC arch support has come close to supporting my entire arch. I recently went to Foot Solutions, and while I didn't buy anything, I was told I had "off the charts" high arches. The salesperson said she was not surprised I had foot pain and she was amazed that I didn't already have back pain or other problems. The middle of my foot does not touch the ground at all -- when I stood on their pressure-sensing device, my heels and balls-of-feet were two big red spots (high pressure), with pale blue spots for my toes and complete black in the middle of my foot. (I could have told them that without standing on the device!)

I was also told that I overpronate. I personally have a hard time deciding whether or not I overpronate -- my shoes definitely wear out on the heels and ball-of-feet area, but they don't wear noticeably more on one side than the other. (Unfortunately, I am a lazy bum and don't exercise much, and my only athletic shoes are very new. So I can only judge the wear of my casual shoes.) However, I do walk with my toes pointed outwards a lot (the opposite of pigeon-toed -- when I was a kid my mom always yelled at me to "quit walking like a duck", but I couldn't help it!), and it just *feels* like I overpronate -- it feels like since most of the inner edge of my foot does not touch the ground, my feet roll inwards since there's nothing to support them. I have large calluses on the inner edge of the ball of my foot (behind the big toe), in the center of my ball-of-foot, and pretty much all over my heel. I also have a very narrow heel but a more average width forefoot. When I buy shoes that fit my forefoot, they are often too big in the heel and my heel tends to slip towards the inside of my shoe. (I cannot wear stilletto heels because my heel does not sit centered above the shoe's heel and my whole foot tips over! lol I can also not wear any sort of slip-on style other than flip-flops since they fall of my feet. So sadly my shoe wardrobe is not very fashionable for a 27-year-old!) Also, my big toe and the two toes next to it are all practically the same length (I think my third toe might actually be the longest!), so maybe I have a mild case of Morton's Toe?

Other than the possible overprontation issue, I have all of the "classic" symptoms of high arches described on most websites -- my big toe and pinky toe sit a little lower than my other toes; my toes are slighty curled (specifically, it appears to be a mild case of mallet toe rather than hammer toes); and my forefoot rests lower than my heel when my feet are at rest.

I've tried tons of OTC arch supports (including several specifically for high arches) and gel insoles. Some gel insoles help a little (not a lot), while some make my feet hurt WORSE which seems strange to me! Some OTC arch supports make my foot hurt worse because they do not match the shape of my foot; others do nothing for me because they are not high enough to touch my arch. None actually help.

I have a feeling that my only option is now custom orthotics and I'm trying to decide where to get them. Foot Solutions took a foam mold of my foot in a neutral position, and from what I've heard a lot of podiatrists do the same thing for orthotics. I've also heard so many stories of people getting custom orthotics from a podiatrist that made their feet hurt worse, and once they quit wearing orthotics and started wearing a different kind of shoe their pain went away. So is it really beneficial to go to a podiatrist? Should I try Foot Solution's orthotics (for $400 -- ouch!)? Or are there other options available for me such as wearing a certain kind of shoe? It's just so frustrating to pay that much money when my feet only hurt me a few days a month -- but it's getting to where I don't enjoy things like shopping, golfing, etc. because my feet hurt, so I need to do something!

Thank you for listening to my long rambling post!

With very High Archs Sometime custom is all that will work. You can try OTC thermo moldable if again your arch is realty high will need to press the insert over a foam block that will push the insert up into your arch.

It seem like you need shoes with more cushioning. Do you wear socks?

Unfortunately Foot solutions as well as a podiatrist you need to check them out first just like any profession there are good and not so good. See if they have a fit guarantee. They also have the option of soft to hard devices full length to dress length.

Your very knowledgeable as far as terminology. The first three toes being the same length is sometimes referred to as dancers toes Morton's is Second is long.

Over pronation with a high are is uncommon because a high arch is usually supinated.

Wear good comfortable shoes and avoid any shoe that is cute. Once your feet recover only wear cute shoes for no more than 2-3 hours because you should want your feet to last another 60+ years.

Regards