Walking Insoles
Walking is a great way to raise the heart rate and get some exercise. However, an unsupportive walking shoe can make the experience painful, especially for those who suffer from overpronation or other conditions such as plantar fasciitis. Adding walking insoles to your shoes may help.
What types of insoles are for walking?
When people look for insoles for walking, they can mean insoles for sneakers, insoles for a daily walk, or insoles for hiking. In any case, these types of shoes are typically full-volume shoes with removable insoles. Because of this, a full-length insole with a higher degree of arch support and added cushion is usually the best fit.
Do you need insoles for walking shoes?
Walking shoes can sometimes offer more support than your average sneaker but a study 1 conducted on the effects of insoles on people who walked long distances as part of their job showed that insoles significantly reduced low back pain. Walking insoles can also help with arch support and alignment.
For Walking We Recommend:
The T-Series offers the greatest degree of cushion and arch support, can help redistribute pressure, and allow for better overall alignment. It is ideal for daily wear in regular volume shoes such as walking shoes, athletic trainers, and work boots. The T-Series incorporates Protalus's patented alignment technology to provide the structure and comfort you need.
Designed for casual or slip-on shoes with a removable insole.
Designed for casual or slip-on shoes with a non-removable insole.
Do you need insoles for hiking?
Just like walking, hiking also requires proper foot mechanics to avoid pain and discomfort. Beyond that, hiking can also add the pressure of repeated impact to the feet at multiple angles due to the uneven terrain of hiking trails. If the factory insoles provided by the hiking boots fail to provide the proper amount of arch support, cushion, or alignment, a hiking insole may be needed to prevent injury or discomfort.
How to choose the best walking shoes
Walking shoes, like any other shoes, need to fit comfortabley without slipping across the back of the heel when taking a step or squeezing in any direction in the toe box. The insoles should provide both cushion and arch support 2, which can be added with an after-factory insole if needed. A walking shoe with a flat insole will not provide much structure.
What type of insole is best for me?
Insoles that absorb shock, redistribute pressure, and provide cushioning will be important when choosing a walking shoe insert. If you are unsure which insole to use, you can find out by answering a few easy questions on the Insole Finder.
1. Shabat, S., Gefen, T., Nyska, M., Folman, Y., & Gepstein, R. (2005). The effect of insoles on the incidence and severity of low back pain among workers whose job involves long-distance walking. European Spine Journal, 14(6), 546-550. doi:10.1007/s00586-004-0824-z
2. Zhang, X., Li, B., Hu, K., Wan, Q., Ding, Y., & Vanwanseele, B. (2017). Adding an arch support to a heel lift improves stability and comfort during gait. Gait & Posture, 58, 94-97. doi:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2017.07.110
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Related Pages
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Satisfaction guaranteed, or your money back!
We are so confident that you will love your insoles that we offer a full 90 day Love Them Or Your Money Back Guarantee. At any time during the first 90 days if you don’t love your new insoles, contact our Customer Service team for answers and solutions. If we cannot offer you a solution, we will accept the insoles back for a *full refund. Contact us directly for a prepaid return shipping label.
*While Return/Exchange shipping is always free any original shipping charges will not be refunded unless the return is a result of our error.
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Does the size not fit you? No problem - we will happily exchange them. For up to 90 days after your initial purchase we exchange our product for a different size.
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No matter how much you have used our insoles we will refund your full money at any time within 90 days from your purchase with no restocking fee.
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Patented Technology Makes It Possible
The difference lies in our patented TRI-Planar technology. Other insole companies place a stump under the arch and call it support. Our insoles focus on the cause of the problem rather than the symptoms, designed to help your body maintain a neutral ankle joint position, while still allowing full ranges of healthy movement. Proper joint alignment improves movement efficiency, reduces fatigue, and prevents injury to help you do what you love.
Reduced Risk of Injury
The bones of the ankle and heel are most stable when they are positioned in alignment. If they shift away from a center alignment, they become less stable.
Imagine pressure being placed on those unstable structures over and over again while you walk, run, or work. That is where the injuries can take place.
Injuries can present as chronic pain in the foot, knees, hips, and back. They may also include acute injuries such as an ankle sprain.
Keeping your hindfoot in alignment allows not only your bones but also the surrounding muscles, tendons, and ligaments to properly handle the pressure placed on them from your feet through your back.
Better Balance
Your ankles and feet work together to manage how weight is distributed as you move
If your heels and ankles are not in their proper positions, they cannot properly distribute weight and this may lead to a less stable walking motion.
When your ankles and heels are out of alignment, your muscles, ligaments, and tendons often have to step in to ensure proper alignment and balance.
When these muscles become fatigued, they may not be able to handle the task properly and you become more likely to fall or become injured.
Increased Energy Efficiency
As you walk and move, your kinetic energy moves from your feet up through your body.
This energy can be seen when walking in sand. Sand kicks up behind you with each step. It is moved by the energy created when you move your foot.
Fatigued muscles don't pass as much of that energy onto the next structure. That is why walking in sand is tiring; energy is being lost and your muscles become fatigued.
An aligned kinetic chain allows the highest quantity of energy to be transferred up through your body, giving you more power and helping you feel less tired.
Better Pressure Distribution
The body is designed to distribute pressure so that your muscles can primarily be concerned with movement.
When the skeletal system becomes misaligned, especially at the joint between the heel and ankle, pressure is no longer distributed across the structures that are most able to deal with it.
Instead, other structures, such as the ligaments in the knees, hips, and ankles, must take on the job and that can lead them to become fatigued, sore, or injured.
Protalus insoles correct the misalignment so you can avoid fatique and injury.
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Support - Signature Protalus ® Footbed
1 Year Product Guarantee
Effective for purchases made after 7/1/2023: If your insoles fail due to imperfections in the materials that go into the insoles or failure of those materials to perform due to compression or lack of fidelity to the original shape prior to 1 year from your purchase date, Protalus will replace the insoles for free. In the event that your insoles are no longer available due to a discontinuance of that model, Protalus will replace the insoles with a similar pair of equal value. Please note that all claims require proof of purchase and the original insoles to be shipped back to Protalus in Tualatin, Oregon and all claims must be approved by the Protalus customer service team prior to honoring this guarantee. customerservice@protalus.com. Limit one replacement per original purchase.
“I love them. Before discovering these Protalus inserts I’d experience severe knee pain. With wearing Protalus inserts in every pair of shoes I own I no longer have any knee pain. I don’t wear shoes without them.” -Donald E.L.