An arch support is a piece of material designed to provide support for the arch

Arches of the foot

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 of the foot

Foot

The foot is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made up of one or more segments or bones, generally including claws...

. An arch support may be placed on top of the shoe's insole, or may be part of the insole.

It is placed inside a shoe

Shoe

A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot while doing various activities. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture to culture, with appearance originally being tied to function...

 so that its molded form fits the arch of the foot. Arch supports are frequently made from plastic

Plastic

A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...

, aiming to be flexible

Flexible

Flexible may refer to:* Flexible electrical cable, also known as a power cord* Flexible electronics* Flexible response* Flexible mold* Flextime* Flexible-fuel vehicle* Flexible rake receiver* Flexible spending account, a tax-advantaged savings account...

 enough to provide comfort and rigid enough to provide support. The material can be custom made to fit individual feet using a medical foot casting system. Alternatively, generic shapes and sizes can be purchased based on foot size and arch height.

Arch supports are most commonly found in shoes, but sandals such as Birkenstock

Birkenstock

Birkenstock Orthopädie GmbH & Co. KG is a shoe manufacturer headquartered in Vettelschoß, Germany. The company sells Birkenstock, a German brand of sandals and other shoes notable for their contoured cork and rubber footbeds, which conform somewhat to the shape of their wearers' feet...

 are also produced with a degree of built-in arch support.

See also

• Foot care
• Dr. Scholl's
  Dr. Scholl's
  William Mathias Scholl was a podiatrist, pioneer of foot care and the founder of Dr. Scholl's, a brand of foot care products. Scholl went on to found the Illinois College of Chiropody and Orthopaedics. William M...
  
  — A brand of arch supports
• Forward Arch - Flexible Corrective Orthotics