Cushioning, Support, and Breaking In New Insoles

There's two common misconceptions that we often deal with in the world of orthopedic insoles:

1. Alleviating foot pain or discomfort requires an insole that is soft.
2. If my insole causes me any discomfort when I first wear it, it's not working.

Today, we'd like to walk through these two ideas, explain why they're somewhat misguided, and explain why we designed our Arch Angels Children's Comfort Insoles the way we did.

Cushioning vs. Support

Those who suffer from foot pain often think that they need an insole that is soft, flexible, and highly cushioned. And when presented with an orthopedic insole with firm support, they often comment that such an insole is the opposite of what they need.

This idea arises from a fundamental misunderstanding of the functions of cushioning and support in an orthopedic insole. In reality, all orthopedic insoles should offer both support and cushioning, as both perform equally important yet distinctly different functions.

Why proper support matters

When we talk about support, we're most often speaking about the heel and midfoot, specifically the heel cup and arch support of an insole. This is because these two areas are of the absolute most importance when providing proper foot support.

When you walk, the first part of the foot to strike the ground is the heel of your foot. As you continue your step, more weight transfers to the midfoot, and the arch of your foot flattens somewhat as you bring more weight onto that foot (this is called pronation). Then, you push off with your forefoot, bringing the heel of your other foot over to strike the ground next. This is the case with each step you take.

Most foot pain results from what we call "overuse injuries," such as plantar fasciitis, sever's disease, heel spurs, foot fatigue, and shin splints. Overuse injuries occur when too much strain is placed on the muscles, bones, and tendons in the foot over a period of time. The muscles become sore and weakened, tendons sustain small tears, and bones become bruised.

Proper support for the foot is what prevents these injuries, and further what alleviates strain on the foot in order to allow existing injuries to heal. The heel cradle of an orthopedic insole helps prevent excess strain and shock on the heel, while a firm arch support will help to more evenly distribute pressure across the foot and dissipate impact shock so that no single part of the foot bears the brunt of the stress.

Support also helps ensure normal foot motion: By cradling the heel of the foot and providing a firm arch support, the foot is encouraged to pronate normally, preventing excess ankle roll (overpronation or supination), toe walking, and general instability. This too will help prevent injuries such as sprained ankles and Achilles tendinitis.

Long story short: Support is important for reducing overuse injuries, providing a stable platform for better stability, and allowing the foot to recover faster from any existing injuries.

Why proper cushioning matters

Cushioning plays an equally important, yet distinctly different, role in foot comfort. Namely, cushioning does two primary things: It alleviates pressure on the foot, and it absorbs impact shock.

Even when just standing in place, your body is placing downward pressure on your feet. Even if an arch support will help to distribute that pressure more evenly across the foot, the fact remains that your feet are still sustaining strain from this pressure. That's one part where cushioning absolutely helps, as cushioning will help to passively absorb some of this pressure.

Think of it this way: If you stand on concrete with bare feet, your feet will start to ache a bit just from the pressure being exerted on your feet by your body, since there's nothing between your feet and the hard concrete to absorb any of that pressure. Rather, your feet are bearing 100% of that pressure without any assistance. If you were to instead stand on the same concrete surface but with a squishy mat under your feet, your feet would probably feel much better for much longer. This is because the mat is absorbing a lot of that pressure on your feet. Cushioning on an insole works the same way in terms of absorbing pressure on the foot.

Whenever you run or jump (especially on hard surfaces) you also subject your feet to what's known as impact shock. Think of jumping off a low wall onto concrete: When you land, your feet will sustain much greater pressure than if you had only stood. Similarly, consider running: Each step you take while running puts more strain on your feet compared to just walking instead.

Impact shock is a major factor in many overuse injuries. Cushioning helps to absorb and mitigate this impact shock before it reaches your foot. We can use our example from before once again: Consider being barefoot on concrete. If you were to jump in place, your feet would quickly become sore, simply because of the impact shock that the concrete floor would have on your feet. If you placed a mat under your feet however, you'd probably be able to go a lot longer before your feet became sore, since the mat would be absorbing much of the impact shock between your feet and the concrete. Cushioning on insoles helps absorb shock in much the same way.

Bringing it all together

We recognize that cushioning and support are both important for keeping feet healthy. That's why the Arch Angels Children's Comfort Insole features both good support and plenty of cushioning.

The core of our insole features a firm, molded arch and heel support that provides proper biomechanical foot support and prevents excess movement of the foot to ensure proper support and stability. However, this support is "sandwiched" between a layer of foam cushioning on the bottom of the insole for shock absorption and a layer of foam cushioning on the top of the insole for pressure relief. That way, your child gets the best of both worlds: Proper foot support, plus great cushioning.

Adjusting to new insoles

It's important to understand that going from inadequate support to proper support may come as a shock to your feet (and the same for your children's feet, too!). Adults who wear orthotic insoles for the first time may require 1-2 weeks of occasional wear to adjust to the new insoles, and children's insoles require a similar adjustment period.

Going from having no support (or inadequate support) on a daily basis to suddenly having full foot support may cause feet to be uncomfortable at first. After all, there's a lot going on under the feet that wasn't there before! This doesn't mean that the insoles don't work, however. Rather, this simply means that we need to transition into the new insoles.

Our recommended transition process is as follows:

1. For the first several days: Wear the new insoles for only an hour or two each day, avoiding usage during high-impact activities (no running or jumping).
2. For the next few days: Wear the new insoles for a bit longer each day (2-3 hours, then 3-4, then 4-5, etc.) but still avoid using the insoles during high-impact activities.
3. For the following couple days: Wear the insoles full-time and during all activities, but be prepared to switch insoles if your feet become uncomfortable.
4. Lastly: Use the insoles full-time. Your feet should now be adjusted to the new insoles such that they don't cause discomfort on a day-to-day basis.