Adjusting to Custom Orthotics-HELP!

I have a twisted hip which functionally results in a 2.2cm leg length discrepancy from a bike accident many years ago. While my bike has a custom crank set that corrects nicely, I only have lifts in my regular shoes. While I can do normal activities, I have hip pain on longer walks or runs. When I went to see a PT for some issues I was having, she referred me to a podiatrist for custom orthotics. He claimed that I would be able to walk and even run without pain. However, they arrived yesterday and feel awful. I have relatively high arches, and there is a ball in them that instead of fitting under my arch, is in front of my arch. It feels like I am walking on golf balls. These were made from casts taken of my feet. He did say it takes time to adjust, and I was given a schedule of adjustment, but I can't imagine that they will ever feel comfortable. They also feel quite hard and have a highly chemical odor. The fitting procedure was lengthy. First he watched me as I went through a series of walking exercises and took extensive notes. Based on this he sent me to running shoe store and had me fitted for an Asics Kayano Shoe. Then at the next appointment he took plaster casts of my feet, and then had the orthotic made to fit the shoe. I just picked them up yesterday, and they felt so bad walking to my car, that I turned around and walked back to the office but the doctor was with another patient. However, his assistant assured me that the reason the ball is located where it is, is so that it can divert my foot to correct my issues, that it is not supposed to be an arch support. Did i just make a $500 mistake or will I eventually adjust? I do have an appointment to return in 3 weeks, not sure what will happen then.

I have them, and have run in them for 3 years. They absolutely saved me. It does take time, be patient. I have a good foot and a "bad" foot and when I first got them, the bad foot felt awful, like it was fighting the orthotic. Now I can't imagine running without them. I got them for a foot issue and after using them, my chronic knee and hip issues are gone. It happened so subtly that I did not even notice until I was running completely pain free for a few months.

Give it time.

It's been decades since I had custom orthotics (for an ankle tendon problem that was corrected surgically) so I can't add anything -- but I understand that frustrated feeling you're having right now so I hope your orthotics work out!

It's really common to have a fallen metatarsal arch when you have a high medial arch (that's the one that most of us note). The orthotic correction for this is a metatarsal pad the is like a button/ball, just behind the knuckles of the toes. If your arches have been off for a long time, it will takes weeks/months to adjust. There are some exercises you can do to help speed things along.

So I just went down an internet rabbit hole. But there are some good exercise suggestions here and this is a lengthy but good routine for general foot strength and mobility.

I wonder if it's possible that the shoe, itself, is contributing to your discomfort. The Kayano is a pretty controlling shoe. Where are you feeling pain? If I wear "too much shoe" for running I get bad peroneal tendon pain on the lateral side of my arches. Anything much more controlling than the Saucony Kinvara or Nike Free (ie not controlling at all) ends up being really miserable.

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions and encouragement! Wahine, it really would have helped if he explained to me that was the purpose of the metatarsal pad. He came highly recommend by a PT I respect a lot, but he is not terribly communicative. I will try your exercises. It is getting better each day. Its not really that its painful, it is just that it feels awkward and uncomfortable. But Wahine's explanation is helping me put up with it.

Zoom-zoom, since he actually wrote me a prescription for the Kayano, and said the orthotic was made to work with the Kayano, I am going to trust that this part is OK. I asked if he could make it for my Nike Air Pegasus, a shoe I've used for years, but he insisted I needed a show like the Kayano. I am not really experiencing pain, its just this "metatarsal pad" as Wahine called it, gives me the feeling that I am walking on a golf ball, as the foot is usually used to the foot bed under the metatarsal area being flat and not blobbed out.

Wahine, can u please look at the attached picture. While it is a tad more comfortable than when I got it, it still feels really wrong to me. Your metatarsal arch explanation made sense until I looked at it closely. In the attached pic, I placed my heel in the heel of the orthotic, and pulled it away from my foot just enough for you to see how the raised area aligns with my foot. You can see it aligns with the forward portion of my medial arch, but it contacts in a way that still feels quite uncomfortable. I think it falls well behind the metatarsal arch. I just want to know if its worth trying to adapt, or if something also looks off to a trained professional eye. thanks!Attachment 17900

you can try wearing your orthotics in deeper high top shoes like basketball shoes or skate shoes. make sure that the tongue isnt thick .


i dont even notice that golf ball feeling when i wear my orthotics with such shoes and i know im still getting the support because of my ankles dont hurt from rolling in.