Hallux Rigidus Men's / Women's Full Length Insoles, Pair

I read the other review carefully and followed his directions (pulled out the shoes original insoles and used a sponge foot insert over the top of the rigid inserts. The Hallux Rigidus Insoles are a little wierd/uncomfortable feeling at first - especially since I've been trying every soft cushiony insert to try and help my foot feel better. These are hard and rigid to prevent movement on the bad joint which agrees with what my podiatrist said. I would suggest wearing them a few hours the first day and then longer the next day, etc. By the third day it dawned on my my foot wasn't hurting anymore (advanced arthritus in big toe joint) and I didn't have to wrap my foot in an icepack to help the inflamation after doing a lot of walking. I don't wear them in all my shoes but I do use them in all my sneakers so as not to be bending that joint repetitively and getting it inflamed. Definately worth a try. Not promising they will work for everyone but they sure seem to be helping me.

Short Version: these are awesome and well worth the investment. Long Version: I recently turned 38 and have to admit that I've been slowly finding that years of being quite active in high-impact sports has taken a toll on my body. Most of the problems are easy to manage and don't detrimentally affect my life but two years back found that a pain in my big right toe was actually something called hallux rigidus (turf toe). It made walking quite painful unless I wore very stiff shoes (hikers, trail shoes or the like) and effectively made running impossible. Tried several different approaches, including some custom made insoles and while there was some relief, the pain was always there. Took a gamble on these insoles from FootSmart and have to say, they've completely changed my life. They're incredibly stiff so take a short while to get used to but I'm now able to run again, can put them in pretty much any of my shoes (even the softer/flexible ones that have been ignored recently) and walk free of discomfort and pain. After a day of wear, I don't hobble around in the evening with an angry big toe - something I haven't enjoyed in some time. May not be for everyone but in my case they've made all the difference and would highly recommend them to anyone suffering from turf toe. Couple of notes: 1) Feel different: you'll find that you may initially feel some tightness in your ankle and the calf muscle but that's only temporary. Since the rigid sole does alter the movement on your foot it takes a short time to adjust but does feel quite natural after just a few days. 2) Size: the sizing is a bit funny. I always wear a size 11M but after measuring the length of my shoes, choose these in the Men's 12-13 and they fit perfectly. It would be great if FootSmart listed the actual length of the insole (in inches or cm) as some other sites offering similar products do. 3) Arch: a rigid and prominent arch that in my case worked well but may be an issue for others. Have heard that these can be very lightly shaped with a hair dryer but be aware that the arch is quite noticeable. 4) Surface: a pretty slick, hard surface that you'll want to have a thin flat insole on top of. Any shoe that builds the shock absorption into the insole (I have a pair of Chaco boots like this) won't be a good candidate since the combination won't work. On anything else, pull the existing insole and put these carbon inserts in with a very thin flat insole on top. Magic... Long review but am pretty stoked with this purchase and without reservation would recommend these to others. I've only ordered one pair to test but given the success will be ordering more so I don't have to keep swapping these between shoes. They really are a revelation.

This was a good idea except that now there's a depression where my other toes drop into with each stride that makes my foot roll a bit to the side...awkward. It would have been better to just extend the plate under those toes as well to form a level surface...Also, it would have been nice to get two right foot inserts for the price of a pair since only my right foot has the problem and I could put one in two pairs of shoes then...as I said, nearly ok.