Tali Sahar, at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, was curious about the quality of insoles and if it makes a difference in treating back pain. After reviewing a total of 6 separate studies (3 involved 2,061 people and the other 3 involved 256 people) what he found will not thrill the ‘Are You Gellin’ group who believe their pricey insoles alleviate back pain.

What Sahar found was that it does not matter if the insole is custom made, a standard insole, or a sham insole, because none of them affect back pain. Sahar is careful to point out that there are valid reasons for custom insoles (or pricey insoles), its just that back pain is not one of them.

Sahar believes that ‘insoles’ are over-prescribed, but does recommend their use to cushion the foot. His study only examined what effect insoles have on back pain and does suggest that insoles might be beneficial as a treatment for other disorders.