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Ya because they're fooled by bullshit and marketing and there's little objective data. Then every so often someone actually produces a meta analysis that demonstrates that the difference is far smaller. The best runners in the world often use stock shoes without much in the way of custom orthotics because midsole technology is so good now yet every dickhead out there that claims they need $200+ insoles to run 5k could benefit more from doing strength and mobility work to become a less shitty human and require less correction.
I dealt with the same thing in cycling for years. I had custom orthotics and custom shoes because my arches and ankles would collapse and introduce pelvic instability up the chain. My PT worked with 4 of the biggest teams at the time and none of them had any issues. The solution was fairly simple- more work off the bike to build basic ankle stability pelvic stability. Took 20min 3 times a week. Within 5 months I was able to use bone stock insoles and shoes.
The whole point of this is to demonstrate that people often fall for marketing and band aid solutions which mask the true problem.
Mind sharing your ankle physical therapy exercises somewhere? I could definitely use some greater dorsiflexion.
Much of what I was prescribed at the time is now popularized by Ben Patrick AKA KneesOverToesGuy:
-Weighted calf and tibia raises. Also some lateral ankle movements with weight.
-Single Leg Romanian Deadlifts with DBs
-Split squats where the knee went over the toe.
-Cossack squats.
-The kookiest sounding one that is actually quite hard is to stand 1 footed on something like a mattress with your eyes closed and try to balance.
-I was also prescribed a lot of hamstring and calve stretches.
His basic progressions are pretty similar and started assisted, then unassisted, then weighted. I've seen you ride or are knowledgeable about bikes so before the PT I was using custom Specialized S-Works shoes they normally give the pros and I had both D2 and Riivo orthotics. The custom shoes were similar to consumer models but generally used a different upper and a stiffer carbon layup near the rear of the shoe with a higher arch. I was using Speedplays with a bunch of wedges and shims and bullshit. After I was able to buy off the shelf S-Works shoes and basically run the BG Fit orthotics that I built up a tad in the rear foot using some firm rubber. I ran stock Dura Ace pedals with zero shims and bullshit.
I've done something similar to recover from rupturing all the ligaments in my ankle last year as well. I am still on a quest to find a stable skate shoe with the board feel I prefer, but I can actually skate Vans with no issue.