Emsold Ultra Thin Dress/Sport Orthotic (Euro 47 - M 12-12.5)

Background: I am a 62 years old male with high arch on my feet. I am physically very active and go to the gym everyday.In February of 2017, I began to experience pain in the ball of my right foot. I tried everything I could think of .... ice, Advil, Keneseo tapes, some rest and also curtailing some physical activities. In May, I finally visited my podiatrist and he diagnosed it as metatarsalgea/capsulitus and gave me a cortistroid injection on my 2nd metatarsal. The foot felt better for a week. Unfortunately, I did not have the patience to wait for the foot to heal properly before starting my physical activities (boot camp) once again. And my pain soon returned and it was more severe this time.I purchased my Emsold Orthotic pair following my second visit to my podiatrist in November. This time he diagnosed me with Morton's neuroma. My podiatrist also suggested that a custom orthotic might help along with a second cortistroid injection. I got the second injection, but it turned out that these custom orthotic were not covered by my medical insurance and I would have to incur the $400 cost out of pocket. So I decide to search for a cheaper alternative and that is when I came across these Emsold insoles.When the insoles arrived, I was pleased with their craftsmanship. There are built exceptionally well. Using them took some getting used to. That is because these insoles raise the metatarsal area high enough that the bottom of the toes now touch the inside of the shoe. It was a weird feeling at first but it took 3-4 days to get accustomed to them. Initially I thought that my lack of pain was only because of the steroid injection, but as the days went by, I still found myself to be completely pain free. I have been wearing these insoles for two week now, and I am completely pain free. I have not started my physical activities to the previous levels yet, but I want to enjoy the pain free days before I start running and attend boot camp classes again in few weeks. I ordered the second pair for my other pair of shoes or perhaps my my athletics shoes. I am not sure how well they would feel while running and jumping because the inserts are reasonably rigid. I would be posting an update once I restart my physical activities.But in the mean time these Emsold insoles have been performing amazingly well.

Had I known about these, I could have saved hundreds of dollars. I am not saying these will work for everyone, so please read the reviews, know your medical issues and use all that information to make an educated decision. Years of pain in my metatarsals, bunions beginning, etc... This is all due to bad shoe design, not meant for my foot, over the many years of that, plus genetics, and other environmental factors as I refer to them now. So, in my late 40's, I finally went to the "foot doctor" and got the over priced customs made. Now don't get me wrong. Those did work for some time, but then they just kind of stopped making a difference and the pain was returning. So they do have a purpose and I still have them for certain shoes. This product is down right beautiful, inexpensive and worked for my issue. Read the instructions, read the reviews and you will not go wrong. You do need to work them slowly into your daily actives or they will hurt. This is reshaping how you walk/stand/etc and I tried to push that the first few days. Bad idea (LOL). Also, if you feet hurt, please keep looking for solutions that do not lie with the "foot doctors" and those types. Most of them are there to hopefully "fix" your issue or at least help make it better, but they are stuck in their old ways and mine was not very helpful with "other" ideas or therapies or products. So over the last couple of years in pain, being in my 40's, getting the "real" orthodics and them not truly working long term for me., I found these inserts and a few other products and new shoes type to help with all my issues. I am relativity pain free for a few months now. If you have pain in your feet for whatever reason, do your own research, work with your doctors and make educated decisions and try what you think will work.

I'm a runner and I've had a number of problems in my left foot. They probably can all be summed up as metatarsalgia, but when I finally broke down and went to the podiatrist, he found evidence of an old stress fracture. I know a few months before that, I definitely had a neuroma (I felt the clicking in the ball of my foot). Lastly, I've had very tight calves and other symptoms common with plantar fasciitis (foot pain that's bad when I first wake up that slowly warms up). So while all of the symptoms are mild enough that I can run through them, I definitely notice the discomfort. The podiatrist said that I shouldn't be too concerned with it if I'm running 3-5 miles a day, but when the run is over, I'd like to walk around the house barefoot like normal...or wake up without pain in my feet. So I supposed I was resigned to buying crap off of Amazon and self-treating (like a true millennial).Essentially, this insert is better than the Dr. Scholls-like inserts you can buy at a drugstore, but perhaps not as nice as a custom orthotic. However, unlike orthotics, these are only $40 and not $800. It's more rigid. It seems sized perfectly. I think the key here, as other reviewers have noted, is the raised pad just south of the ball of the foot as well as the rigid arch. The former splays out the toes, and takes pressure off the nerves. I won't lie and say that these puppies were comfortable out of the box. Wearing them in my sneakers around the house sort of shifted the foot discomfort from the usual spots (ball of my foot) to the area closer to the arch of my foot. After one day, I was concerned that the purchase would be another desperate Amazon purchase intended to cure some ailment that wouldn't materialize into much more than money out the window.After some research (more millennial Googling), I found that many times, professionally made orthotics are not comfortable right away. I mean, it's reasonable. These things are rigid, and they are literally redesigning how weight is being distributed overnight. The key is that after a week or two, hopefully, if they're well designed, you don't even notice that they're in your shoe anymore. With these, after 1 day, I was nowhere near close to finding them comfortable. After Day 2 however, I have to admit, it's getting pretty darn close to not being perceptible in my sneakers. If it continues this way - and I'll try to add to my review - I'll update everyone as I go to buy a few more pairs.So, overall, these things look well made and definitely seem to have a legitimate impact (pun intended) on how my foot strikes the ground. I have a hunch that these things, in conjunction with good stretching, and wearing my overnight plantar fasciitis brace - that I may finally cure my foot of its ailments. At the very least, it's been pleasant having the incessant yet low level discomfort shift from the ball of my foot to the arch of my foot. And like I said - I think that my foot will adjust to it, and the arch discomfort will go away as the orthotic breaks in, and the ball of my foot will be free to heal up.

I wear a size 12 US shoe and I ordered the 12-12.5 orthotic which I thought was correct. I wore the orthotic for a month but didn't get much relief from the pain. Therefore, I went to my Podiatrist to find out why. He stated the Metatarsal Pad was too far towards the front of my foot and causing additional pressure on my metatarsal bones. He stated the Metatarsal Pad is supposed to be just behind the ball of your foot and somewhat into your arch - not under any portion of the ball of your foot. My advice would be to sit on something and hold these orthotics under your foot to see where the pad hits your foot (you can get some good pictures and information by looking on the internet). If the pad is not positioned correctly, send the orthotics back before you wear them and get a different size.

Bought this insert for my Morton's neuroma. I originally ordered it and was going to return it but Eric, the owner, emailed me and we talked about my issues.After wearing for a few days I was not a fan, it was uncomfortable. (I followed instructions exactly) I started a return and Eric contacted me and we chatted about my problem. After the conversation I waited to return until after I went to doctor. Went to my appointment and was diagnosed with Morton's neuroma and was given a hydrocortisone shot to help the Inflammation and was told the inserts were exactly what I needed. One thing I can say is these are WAY less expensive as another well known place to get inserts.I wear these inserts in my shoes every day.Thanks EricGreat customer service and phenomenal product.Pain has gone away and helped me be comfortable walking and standing.