The 11 Best Pairs of Walking Shoes for High Arches, According to Podiatrists (2023)

FAQs

What walking shoes do podiatrists recommend? ›

Best Women's Overall: Skechers Go Walk Arch Fit Grateful

We chose this pair of slip-on sneakers as our best women's pick for high arches because it features a durable outsole that offers great traction. The insole provides ample support, while lightweight cushioning keeps you feeling light on your feet all day long.

Arch supports are good for high arches. They bridge the gap between arch and floor, relieving the foot of excessive pressure and strain by distributing the body weight across the feet. Thus, high arch support reduces the negative impact of walking and helps prevent pain in the foot.

A podiatrist can provide you with custom-fitted orthotics that can help to support the arches of your feet and distribute weight more evenly among the foot to prevent heel pain and pain in the ball of the foot.

Sketchers DO NOT have appropriate stability in the upper fabric and the heel counter to complement an orthotic. As such, you will probably find the orthotic redundant, or in worse case contributing to the cause of injury. Remember, an orthotic does 50% of the work. The shoe does the other 50%.

The best way to correct a high foot arch is to wear an orthotic high arch shoe insert that will support your foot's natural arch. Good shoe insoles for supination should be comfortable and supportive and should support all areas of the arch.

The best thing you can do for high arches is properly support them. That means using insoles made for high arches. Insoles will relieve excessive pressure on the ball and heel of your foot by evenly distributing your body weight. That, in turn, will cushion the impact when you walk, run or jump.

Do podiatrists approve of Skechers? ›

There's a reason Skechers are a Yahoo reader fave — they're synonymous with comfort, durability, and affordability. Podiatrists love them and so do we.

Skechers Arch Fit are a popular range of podiatrist certified footwear developed with over 20 years of data and 120,000 unweighted foot scans.

Memory foam can do such things as ease pressure on the ball of your foot, provide arch support, stop foot roll, stabilize the feet and absorb heel shock.

High arches might be an indicator that your foot is not mobile, and therefore might benefit from the flexibility of barefoot shoes. As long as there is no pain, dysfunction, or underlying pathologies, then both kids and adults can wear barefoot shoes even with high arches.

Trying to wear shoes without enough room or support to accommodate a high arch can be painful because more stress is placed on the metatarsals ultimately leading to pain in the ball of the feet known as metatarsalgia as well as plantar fasciitis.

High arches are a common cause of metatarsalgia. This is a painful inflammation of the ball of the foot. Metatarsalgia usually improves when you rest and worsens during standing, walking, or exercising. Flexing your foot can also worsen your pain.

High arches, unlike flat feet, are often painful and can be a disability. They can also make it hard to fit into shoes. When you have high arches, your feet can't absorb shock well when you walk or run.

They don't change in size, necessarily. But feet may get wider, not longer, as we age. They change in their elasticity the same way other body parts do – tissue becomes less tight, causing the increased width and sagging of the arches.

The top-selling athletic sneakers for 2021 (in revenue rank order) are as follows: Nike Air Force 1 Low, Nike Air Max 270, Nike Air Vapormax Plus, Nike Revolution 5, Nike Air Max 97, Adidas NMD R1, Nike Air Max 90, Nike Air Vapormax Flyknit 3, Jordan I High OG, and Jordan XIII.

The “Nike Air Force 1 comes out on top in every single state as the most popular and searched for iconic sneaker in 2021,” according to eBay. It come in women's, men's and kids; high-tops, medium and low-tops; and a variety of colors.

Should you get walking shoes a size bigger? ›

Size Up for Walking Shoes

Your walking shoes should be larger than your regular shoes because your feet may swell up to a full shoe size when you walk for over half an hour. Give up on shoe size shyness and get fitted correctly.

The most comfortable shoe, without a doubt, is the Hoka Bondi 7—and Dr. Schaeffer agrees, as they are one of two brands he always recommends to his patients (psst: the second brand is our top choice for the running sneaker category).

The Skechers GOWalk 5 is truly footwear you must add for your daily walking rotation. It has comfort, durability, and style to make your daily walks more fun and bearable.

Walking for 30 minutes a day

To get the health benefits, try to walk for at least 30 minutes as briskly as you can on most days of the week.

Skechers Arch Fit

Discover the ultimate comfort solution with podiatrist-certified arch support developed using over 20 years of data. Footwear in our Arch Fit collection features a removable, supportive cushioning insole system for a more comfortable walking experience.

The most common foot problem that a podiatrist treats is heel pain. Heel pain can be caused by a variety of different conditions, such as plantar fasciitis or Achilles tendinitis. Treatment for heel pain often includes things like stretching exercises, orthotic devices, or cortisone injections.

Supportive and soothing

Walking long distances and being on foot all day rave about how the Skechers Arch Fit insoles provide excellent support and help alleviate foot pain.

Foot's foot compression sleeves help relieve pain and pressure related to plantar fasciitis, tendonitis, arthritis, high arches, and other foot problems.

Ankle instability: High arch feet can cause ankle instability and increase your risk for ankle sprains. Metatarsal fractures: Because high arches can cause repeated stress, people with the condition may develop hairline fractures in the bones of the foot.

According to Dr. Shaeffer, Birkenstocks pass the test for best shoes for high arches. For this category, our top pick is the classic Arizona style with a twist. These platform slides have a chunky and supportive EVA sole with an anatomically shaped cork footbed for maximum comfort.

Are high arches genetic? ›

High Arch Feet Problems

WebMD reports that high arch feet are inherited by 68% of women, and 20% of men. 99% of women under 60 with the disorder inherit it from their parents, as do 63% of men. Outside of genetics, cavus foot can be caused by a myriad of neurological disorders and other medical conditions.

They lack heel support

“Crocs are backless and do not support or control the heel,” Weiser adds. As a result, you could develop heel pain and tendonitis of the heel. The lack of heel support can make it more difficult to maintain stability as you walk, so you may be more likely to trip or fall.

Whether you have a low arch, medium arch, or high arch foot, every arch type can benefit from Vionic. Get extra cushioning and proper foot arch support with our orthotic shoes or shoe inserts today.

Although this condition is more commonly known to affect runners and overweight or pregnant individuals, the unstable design of the Skechers Shape-Ups has been known to have caused plantar fasciitis to a number of individuals.

If the high arch is due to a neurologic disorder or other medical condition, it is likely to progressively worsen. On the other hand, cases of cavus foot that do not result from neurologic disorders usually do not change in appearance.

The best thing you can do for high arches is properly support them. That means using insoles made for high arches. Insoles will relieve excessive pressure on the ball and heel of your foot by evenly distributing your body weight. That, in turn, will cushion the impact when you walk, run or jump.

Foot pain is something you never should ignore if you have high arches. By seeing a podiatrist early, you can avoid a worsening of symptoms and even correct structural abnormalities in your gait before other joints are affected.

Non-surgical options include: Custom orthotic devices are inserted into a shoe to correct the foot position and provide arch support. Doing so can improve stability and add much-needed cushioning to your foot. Ankle braces are used to stabilize wobbly ankles and prevent excessive supination while standing or walking.

When you have high arches, your feet can't absorb shock well when you walk or run. Over time, the stress on the ball and heel of the foot can cause pain in the feet, which can radiate up to your ankle, leg, thigh and hip.

What drop is best for high arches? ›

Ankle instability: High arch feet can cause ankle instability and increase your risk for ankle sprains. Metatarsal fractures: Because high arches can cause repeated stress, people with the condition may develop hairline fractures in the bones of the foot.

If you have a “Normal” to “High” arch we'd recommend Birkenstock or Finn Comfort footwear with classic, or "firm" footbeds.

Cavus foot is often caused by a neurologic disorder or other medical condition, such as cerebral palsy, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, spina bifida, polio, muscular dystrophy or stroke. In other cases of cavus foot, the high arch may represent an inherited structural abnormality.

Crocs Aren't Great for Your Heels or Arches — Here's When to Skip Them. Your Crocs may feel comfortable, but they don't offer the best support for your feet. Here's when to wear them and when to opt for another shoe.

Flat feet can cause back pain, bunions, or tendon damage. However, wearing shoes that support the arches can make walking more comfortable and reduce the risk of complications.