The Barefoot Science foot support device is marketed being a strategy to strengthen your foot to stop many different foot conditions. A dome molded insert is used and it is claimed that this strengthens the foot. As time passes the dome is removed and replaced with a bigger dome in order to provide a higher stimulus to further strengthen the foot as well as increase proprioception. On the Barefoot Science internet sites along with promotional materials for these products lots of statements which get generated for just what this insole method is capable of doing, but little or no data, let alone published research is available to to back up the claims that get made.
Mockingly, there is nothing that is “barefoot” about them and the “science” to support the insole is just not at this time there despite the assertions by people who promote them. They are shoe inserts that have to be placed within the shoe, which means you can’t use them barefoot. These insoles still support the front area of the mid-foot (arch) of the foot, so they work like simple arch supports or foot orthoses. The majority of the statements which sellers of this product claim about the science are usually not supported by the research and they are just just made up. So may be the claims that you see written on the websites and also promotional content for them and in addition what they assert about some other products for example foot orthotics. No scientific study that holds up to analysis has been published in a peer reviewed journal which demonstrates they work as the marketers assert.
There are lots of testimonials and anecdotes in regards to the Barefoot Science insoles, but that really should be a red flag as if they claim there exists research backing this product when there is not and rely on the anecdotes along with testimonials, then this has all of the hallmarks of snake oil. Customer testimonials and anecdotes are not proof and not science. That doesn't indicate that they do not work and can not benefit people, it merely means that the claims being made for these are actually not really backed up in the way that the promotors reclaim they may be held up by the prevailing research. Individuals who make the anecdotes as well as customer testimonials may possibly have improved for any number of reasons, for example placebo, the natural history of the complaint and the insole merely offers a bit of useful support where it is needed and also the final result has almost nothing to do with the claimed foot strengthening process. That is why if you want to make health promises in regards to a product or service you need well controlled reports to eliminate these causes of clinical changes. All kinds of other organizations have discovered themselves on the wrong side with the legal requirements when making these kinds of statements in terms of penalties and fees from regulatory authorities and class action suits when the assertions being made really don't happen to the buyer.
Right now there is possibly no downside in using these insert if you'd like to, just do not fall for all of the marketing hype and pseudoscience as well as non-science assertions that will get made for them. Use them for what they are intended for. They're not going to cure all. They may be only another way for some kind of orthotic aid in the shoe which might in many problems be of help.