Heel Pads and Cushions – Buyer’s Guide

Heel pads and heel cups are foot care products that serve a number of purposes:

• They absorb the shock of the heel strike.
• They provide extra relief and protection from heel pain.
• They can improve the stability of the heel within footwear, helping to correct bio-mechanical misalignment.

Fitted on top of, or underneath, existing insoles, shock-absorbing heel pads reduce muscle fatigue and stress on leg tissues and joints during the heel strike, lowering the risk of injury. The slight heel lift provided by a heel pad reduces tension in the calf muscle and Achilles tendon to prevent and relieve the symptoms of Achilles tendonitis and calf strains.

Wearing a heel cup or heel cushion inside your sports’ shoe can provide your heel with maximum shock absorption and stabilisation during high impact sports such as five-a-side football, basketball, tennis and squash. Heel cups can also help to prevent and relieve the pain of plantar fasciitis (heel and foot pain caused by inflammation of the muscle sheath beneath the foot) or a heel spur (a growth projecting from the heel bone).