Foot supports are a frequently used intervention for a wide range of foot and leg dysfunctional problems. These are developed and used to fix alignment and biomechanical problems. All the research data is that they are generally quite successful and the patient satisfaction type evidence demonstrates that they are well accepted by those that have them. That doesn’t mean that they do not have problems. They do have issues. They are able to only be used in footwear which has the space for the supports to fit into. This means that they can not be used in some varieties of sports shoes and some footwear found in particular jobs. Also, in some environments closed in shoes are not very popular because of the temperatures. Some people just have a philosophical objection to foot supports since they see them as being unnatural and as crutches that should not be used.
Whilst foot orthotics are simple and will easily be designed to work in the short to medium term you can find alternate options if patients prefer to pursue that option. Exercise therapy is one option and muscle strength may be improved and used instead. On the other hand, this will likely take many months to work and it will be a good idea to use foot orthotics to start with because they can help get some improvement nearly straight away. If footwear is the issue and it is not possible for economic, occupational, sporting or chosen lifestyle reasons to alter the footwear, then there are options like the Archie Flip Flops that come from Australia and have a good amount of arch support built in. There are more kinds of footwear such as these which do have support integrated, however the amount is fairly small compared to the Archies and may not do much good. As always it is recommended to talk to your podiatrist about what they believe is the best option for you.