ugliness. it has to be ugly. 😉

So I’m someone who has to use an orthopedic shoe because I have (really bad) flat foot. So to add more flavor text,

• It is true, orthopedic isn’t really a regulated term, so it gets thrown around pretty aggressively with little meaning.
• Some shoe companies genuinely are creating orthopedic shoes for people with actual foot problems. For me personally, I use Orthofeet brand because I find them to straddle the very weird intersection of shoes with extra wide toe boxes/foots, and terrible arch support, and flexible + lightweight materials. They didn’t pay me to say this, I’m just really really happy with them after nearly a decade of jumping between brands.
• Sometimes orthopedic shoes are not enough… like in my defective case. In my case, I have Orthopedic Insoles which are NOT the same things as the flimsy things in the supermarkets. They’re actually custom molded to my foot, to prevent my skeletal structure from collapsing more under the horribleness of my flat foot. Between my shoes and my insoles, this is literally the difference between me being unable to walk and me being able to run a bit.

A discussion of orthopedic shoes.

Note: the above site is trying to sell you on them, but the concepts/justifications they discuss pertain to your question.

When it’s designed to specifically help provide support for people with foot problems. Regular shoes are more focused on aesthetics, and only recently has comfort become a staple to go along with it, like technologies such as boost and react. Even with these technologies, these shoes are still designed as one-shoe-fits-all to allow as many people as possible to wear them, whereas orthopedic shoes provide custom support depending on what you need, such as arch support for flat feet, shoes specifically for diabetics, etc.

Similar to orthopedic chairs?

They provide support and comfort, so as to have a better posture than usual.