Are your feet tired by the end of the day? Try changing your shoes and/or inserts halfway through the work day or up to every four hours. This changes the stress pattern for your feet.
Most of us wear our shoes too small. As long as you have a firm base it's better to wear your shoes a little looser.
Take your shoe off and stand on the floor, now lift up your big toe only. Note how the arch comes up too. That is Windlass, your natural arch support. As you walk without shoes or with shoes that promote Windlass your feet and arches should stay healthy. If you lock up Windlass you cannot access your natural arch support.
People often come into the store looking for shock absorption, soft cushiony shoes, gels etc. Soft is easy to sell because it feels good. And the concept of shock absorption makes sense at first thought. Long term, however, humans do not do well walking around on soft, squishy big soles. Think about how much work your body, joints etc. would be doing to stand on the bed, or a couch cushion etc. It is the same concept with shoe soles-only on a much smaller level we may not notice at first.
Regarding gel insoles. If your tissue is injured (for example plantar fasciitis) why put it on gel which will cause the tissue to move around even more? Lock it up for awhile, then move it naturally. Think firm, less movement at first.
If you have heel pain right away in the morning it could be that tissue was healing and shortening. The last thing you want to do is step down and re-tear it every day. Step into something like the Haflinger Clog. This will let the tissue stretch more slowly.
Most athletic shoes and shoes in general have heel height. Why? Shouldn't we be working, walking, running more naturally. Why work out in a high heel? It doesn't make much sense. Not only are we not using proper body mechanics but after long term use every day the Achilles tendon is bound to start to shorten. That being said heel height is okay sometimes as long as you are comfortable with out it (ie: barefoot).
