Varieties of orthotic experience

I've posted about research on the value of orthotics, and I thought I'd do a little research of my own-- a casual survey on facebook. And I'd be glad to see more about people's experiences with orthotics.

Note: None of the replies implied that orthotics were being over-prescribed for flat feet.

Text on facebook:

I posted recently about an article saying that orthotics were mostly not useful for the disorders they were prescribed for. I got a couple of angry replies, and one which said they worked very well for the commenter's plantar facsiitis.

I should have checked more carefully.

When I looked into the article's sources, it seems to have overstated the research.

Here's the article:

https://www.smh.com.au/national/expensive-orthotics-no-better-than-a-sham-review-finds-20180331-p4z788.html

Here are the sources:

http://www.cochrane.org/CD006801/MUSKEL_custom-made-foot-orthoses-for-the-treatment-of-foot-pain_

http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2018/02/23/bjsports-2017-097892

A rant about low-quality custom orthotics, and the limits of orthotics in general.

https://www.painscience.com/articles/orthotics.php

Previously, my vague impression of custom orthotics was vague but favorable-- people were getting them and weren't complaining about this.

If anyone wants to write about their experience with orthotics, I'm interested in it. What were the orthotics prescribed for? Did they work?

For the record, while I'm enthusiastic about various methods of improving coordination, they are not a substitute for treatment for structural problems.


Summary of replies:

orthotics made things worse, skilled chiropractic worked
orthotics plus other treatment worked
orthotics didn't work, cheap insoles worked
orthotics helped by giving some respite from pain, but most of the improvement was from other methods-- the respite was important
over-the-counter foot supports worked
over-the-counter orthotics plus other methods worked, was lucky to get a good fit