(Sam's sister posting, as this is my area of expertise.)
I agree completely. You need good shoes. But also get fitted for arch supports. Most people now have flat feet, which causes a multitude of problems including bunions, bad knees and hips, and throwing your back out of alignment as no one has perfect balance or equally distributes their weight over both feet. Most shoes are not made with support anymore. Support is a high arch on the inside bottom of your foot (your plantar arch) as well as a lump in the forward middle of the insole for your metatarsal, the ball of your foot.
EVERYONE should be wearing properly fitted arch supports. You don't have to have them made and spend hundreds of dollars, a lot of shoe stores will sell them. The main thing to look for is something with a high arch support and for it to be hard. Soft arch supports do nothing for you, made sure it is a hard plastic or cork. I love my Birkenstock arch supports, as they mold to your feet and are not full length so they fit in many different styles of shoes.
Also when buying an arch support make sure the arch fits your foot properly. Hold the support against the bottom of your foot, and follow the line. It should line up perfectly with your plantar arch, the one on the inside of your foot on the bottom. (I have many people coming in thinking their arch is the angle on the top of their foot, that's actually your instep.)
Wear the suckers. They may hurt like a *****, especially if you have flat feet. You are stretching out the muscles in your feet and realigning ligaments and muscles. It usually hurts. Deal with it. It is worth it.
