How to get Comfortable Shoes.

Our collection of shoes consists of what we believe to be are the best of the best in the “Comfort Shoe” category.  We have critiqued and evaluated the shoes offered at national shoe shows and only purchased the ones that we believe will provide you with the function and comfort you desire.  Of course, style is of paramount importance.  Know that comfort shoes no longer have to look like Herman Munster’s nor Aunt Bee’s shoes.  They are now made with style yet contain many features that aid in the control of motion and accommodating function.

But don’t buy a shoe just because it is classified as a comfort shoe or as a perfect fitting shoe.  Know what you are getting. 

A comfortable shoe comes from ideal function as well as fit.  There is no such thing as a perfect fit and cushion, softness and gel are not what provides ideal comfort in the shoe.  That is, shoes need to fit to feet and shoes, unlike feet, unless custom molded to your feet, come in symmetrical shapes and sizes.  That is, the left and right shoes are mirror images of each other, premade to a specific shape.  Our feet are not usually symmetrical, just like the rest of our body.  Thus, it is impossible to have a pair of premade shoes that are perfectly fit to your feet.  However, with the aid of our experienced pedorthist, we can help you fit your feet with the ideal shaped shoe with proper function to give you comfort.   It is “Ideal Fit” that gives you the best chance at comfort. 

Ideal fit not only includes matching shapes of the shoe to your feet but also includes matching the bottom of your feet.  The arch length, the length from your heel to the ball of your feet needs to be matched to the area of the shoe that bends.  A quality comfort shoe will bend only at the ball of the foot.  This helps aid normal function of the foot. 

Furthermore, the insert in the shoe needs to match your feet.  Many comfort shoes come with their own insert.  This may be ok for some as it is a close match to their feet, but for others they may need to replace the insert with a premade or custom device.   

Comfort shoes usually have features that control, aid, or assist motion either from the sides or the bottom.  If the features match your needs then you may think it is great.  If it doesn’t match your needs then you will think the opposite.  If they put too much control, aid, or motion control into the shoe, then a smaller volume of the population will tolerate it as it then starts becoming too specific in its’ features.  It becomes too prescriptive. This is one reason shoes may help with comfort but they do have limitations.  

Therefore, in order to get the most in comfort from a shoe, one needs not only ideal fit but optimum functional features within the shoe as well as a premade or preferably a custom made orthotic- usually made from a cast of your feet. 

If your feet are especially asymmetrical, left to right or front to back, then the optimal way to achieve the most comfortable shoe may be to obtain a custom made shoe that is fabricated from a casted mold of your feet.   At ArchMasters,

We Fit Feet... not Shoes! 

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Experience “Functional Comfort with Style!”