If you are struggling with blisters, plantar fasciitis, hammertoe, or any other type of foot pain, orthotics can help. You can either buy a more generic pair at a pharmacy, or you can visit an orthopedist and have them custom-made. Regardless of which approach you take, though, there are a couple of small issues or problems that might appear as you begin wearing these orthotics on a daily basis. None of these problems are hard to solve, but you do need to know how to remedy them. Here's what you should know.

Problem: Your feet are sore in a different way after wearing the orthotics.

Often when people start wearing orthotics, they find that their feet are still sore at the end of the day — but the soreness is in a different spot. This is because the orthotics shift the way you stand on your feet. Different muscles, tendons, and ligaments are taking the pressure now that you're wearing the orthotics. The easiest way to address this is to only wear your orthotics for a few hours per day, at first. Once you no longer experience any foot soreness with a few hours of wear, you can progress towards wearing them for about 3/4 of the day, and then eventually, the whole day. With this approach, your soft tissues have more time to adapt to your new foot posture, so soreness is less likely.

Problem: Your orthotics keep curling up inside your shoes.

Sometimes the orthotic insert will fold under your toes in the front, or under your heels in the back. This usually means that your orthotics are too big for your shoes. There is nowhere else for the extra material to go, so it curls up. If the orthotics are ones that you bought yourself, remove them from your shoes, and trim a little bit off the front with scissors. Try them again, and see if they still curl. If they do, trim them a tiny bit more. If the orthotics were made for you by a doctor, you can simply them back and ask for them to be refitted to your shoes.

Problem: You're still sore in spite of wearing the orthotics.

People often expect that once they start using orthotics, whatever foot problems they were dealing with will go away immediately. Sometimes it works this way, but often it does not. Generally, you need to spend a few weeks or even a few weeks in the orthotics before you see a dramatic decrease in pain. So, don't give up; keep wearing them. If you're a month in and still have not seen any improvement, then talk to your doctor.

Most common problems with orthotics are quite easy to solve. If you run into problems that are not on this list, talk to your doctor.