To Pronate or Not to Pronate

I have been a Pronater all of my life. And, no this is not some new fangled political group or something. Basically, I walk on the inside of my feet. I've done this all my life. I've sprained my ankles I can't tell you how many times because of it (I used to think I just had weak ankles). When I was a kid, I used to shove tissue into the inside of my shoes thinking that would help. I used to get teased and told I ran like a "chicken." I've also been in denial for many many many years. I look at my shoes and see how bent out of shape they are because of my pronation. I didn't even know the term for my problem till I started going to a chiropractor years ago.

So it wasn't until my husband told me that it hurts to watch me walk and that I walk really messed up, that I decided to see if I could find a solution. So I googled "pronation" and took a look at what came up. I found this online store called Footsmart and they have got tons and tons of products from inserts to shoes that help all kinds of foot related problems. I thought the shoes were kind of expensive so I searched "pronation" under their inserts and orthopedics. I found a pair of these gel inserts that were pretty inexpensive and thought, what the hell..I don't have anything to lose. They don't have the first pair I bought anymore so I can't post a photo. But, when I got them and put them in my shoes and walked around..there was an instant difference. After a day or so my back pain started going away. The only problem I had with this one pair was they made a couple pairs of my shoes way too tight and I couldn't wear them.

I went back to Footsmart and ordered a couple more different pairs of inserts. One was these ArchUps Slim inserts in the photo to the left. Very sturdy but not made of the gel like the other pair. They also come with an adhesive if you want to keep them from moving around in your shoe. These work alot better in my shoes, especially the ones that were too tight with the other inserts. Very easy to use and you can't really feel them at all. The effect is immediate. They are on sale at Footsmart right now for $4.97 and are regularly $12.99.

The other pair I got were these Bio-Balance inserts. These are more the soft gel type but slimmer in design so they fit any shoe fairly easily. These worked just as well. They're on sale at Footsmart for $3.97 regularly $6.99.

These were the inexpensive inserts. There are more expensive ones that I won't be trying but probably give you the same results. These were much more on my price radar. I'm happy with the results I've gotten with all three. I'm walking better and my posture is better. If you've got a pronation problem, don't go as long as I did without using a shoe insert. I have to say they have made things alot better.