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Knee, Hip & Back Pain

Knee, hip and back pain is becoming more and more common in modern day living but did  you know that 80% of knee, hip and back pain originates from the feet? This is because we evolved over thousands of years learning how to walk around in bare feet on soil, grass and sand. Nowadays we spend most of our lives in flat shoes walking around on hard surfaces both in the workplace, in shops and in the street. Even in the home we’ve been encouraged to take out soft furnishing like carpets to be replaced by wooden floors, laminate and tiles.


When we walk on soft surfaces, much of the energy that we create when we walk is absorbed into the ground, cushioning the impact on the foot and reducing the shock coming up through our joints. However, when we walk on hard surfaces, it’s our bodies which absorbs all the impact, which then travels up through our skeleton and impacting on our knees, hips and lower back.

Also, when we walked barefoot, because grass and soil is naturally uneven, some of the grass or soil is pushed into the arch area giving it support. This is important because the arch is a fundamental part of the foot. It acts as the body’s natural shock absorber, ‘giving’ as we walk and cushioning the foot but also it helps to align the skeleton so that the knees and hips are correctly configured as well as our back. 

Because the internal sole of a shoe tends to be flat there is no support for the arch so, as the weight of the body presses down on it, it can come under stress causing the internal ligament to tear causing plantar fasciitis or the arch can begin to drop which can cause reduced ‘shock absorption’ or worse, it can pull the knee and, subsequently, the hip and back out of line.

Many common problems related to the foot can be rectified by the use of an orthotic and there are hundreds of options available. These include simple ‘off the shelf’ remedies which can be bought in a chemist or a supermarket. However, because these tend to be made for the ‘average’ foot, if you’re not blessed with ‘average’ feet then their impact will be limited. Alternatively, you can purchase custom made orthotics which are made specifically for your feet. If they are measured correctly, they will provide better support, but they can be very expensive and are often very thick and consequently won’t fit in a lot of dress shoes.

So why are SOLE MATES insoles different? SOLE MATES are a liquid orthotic and work in a way similar to a waterbed.  Fluid has no shape so, when you stand on SOLE MATES insoles the fluid moulds to the shape of the foot, creating cushioned support across the whole foot. Also, unlike foam or gel fluid doesn’t compress or flatten, which is why it’s used in hydraulics. When you stand on a fluid it displaces into gaps- in this case the arch of the foot, creating a natural but gentle arch support. It does this because the pressure of your body is forcing the fluid into the arch, creating the same pressure under the arch that is pushing down on it. This ensures that the arch is aligned naturally, in turn helping to align the knees, hips and back. The results are for people suffering from pain is IMMEDIATE. No waiting weeks or months for pain relief.

 And the beauty of this simple concept is that, because they don’t compress, SOLE MATES insoles are exceptionally THIN, not much deeper than a two pence piece, meaning they will fit in any shoe, including dress shoes.