Silicone heel pads for shoes are special soft orthopedic structures that help maintain the normal position of the foot and prevent the development of flat feet. In addition, they have antibacterial and shock-absorbing properties, which help to avoid foot fungus and protect the legs from excessive vibrations when walking.
Silicone insoles and heel pads are useful for people who not only spend a lot of time on their feet, but also lead an active lifestyle, doing jogging, Nordic walking, skiing. Designs made of soft silicone avoid the occurrence of corns and calluses, fatigue and aching legs. The combination of silicone orthopedic products with quality shoes will be especially effective.
Varieties of silicone orthopedic designs for shoes
Silicone is an elastic and resilient material that allows you to create structures from it with various parameters, but at the same time it has increased wear resistance and resistance to deformation. There are many typesorthopedic structures made of silicone, which must be selected depending on the existing problems with the feet:
- Heel pads. Designed to help prevent cracked heels and corns.
- Stickers on the back. Helps prevent heel chafing, especially when breaking in new shoes.
- Heel pads made of several layers of silicone. Allow to increase human height.
- Wedges. Contribute to the elimination of painful and uncomfortable sensations in the area of the longitudinal arches of the feet.
- Fingers. Necessary to protect the tissues of an already rubbed toe or to prevent rubbing with shoes.
- Interdigital septa. Relieve pain from the pressure of shoes on the toe area.
- Inserts under the arches of the foot. Needed to reduce the load on the spine and legs when wearing shoes with high heels.
- Insoles. Used to balance the foot in flat or flat shoes.
Inserts to reduce shoe size. Allows you to solve the problem of trampled shoes or those that are too large.
Advantages of silicone prosthetics
Silicone heel pads and other orthopedic structures, according to patients who used them, have many positive aspects. These include:
- fixing the transverse and longitudinal arches of the feet in the normal position;
- improve circulation in the feet;
- preventing the development of diseases of the musculoskeletalmachine;
- reducing the load on the feet, spine, leg joints, maintaining the feet;
- prevention of unpleasant odor in the feet.
In addition, patients noted the minimization and elimination of the feeling of fatigue in the legs.
Disadvantages of silicone prosthetics
Silicon heel pads and similar orthopedic products have a number of negative points:
- Inability to wear in the presence of open, especially bleeding, wounds.
- No wearing more than 16 hours a day.
- Limited shelf life of the material (from 2 months). By the way, it depends on the frequency of use of the product and the quality of its care, the accuracy of its selection according to the size of the foot.
- Less often - unpleasant physical sensations from the contact of the foot with silicone, a feeling of tightness when wearing shoes (especially model type).
Indications for silicone prosthetics
According to experts, wearing silicone orthopedic products is necessary if there are certain problems:
- need to compensate for differences in leg length;
- traumatic heel injury;
- need for ankle reconstruction;
- damage to the hip bone;
- heel spur;
- complicated pregnancy;
- prevention of flat feet.
Silicone heel pads and other designs are soft andpliability, so they are suitable for use in the early stages of diseases and for preventive purposes.
Care of silicone orthotics
Experts advise washing silicone foot products daily with regular soap and warm water. At the same time, in order to avoid damage to orthopedic products made of silicone, it is forbidden to use products with chlorine to wash them.
Clean silicone insoles and other structures should be gently blotted with a piece of cloth and dried, without using heaters and heating elements. After drying, they should be treated with special foot talc or baby powder. Do not expose heel pads for orthopedic shoes and designs of any format made of silicone to direct sunlight.
Tips for choosing silicone heel pads and other orthotics
The described designs are therapeutic and prophylactic products, so the correct choice of them requires a serious approach and should be based on the parameters of the feet, individual features of the structure of the legs and existing diseases.
As confirmed by the reviews of those who have used this product, in order to choose the right heel pads for shoes or other structures made of silicone, you need to contact the orthopedic center for the help of a qualified specialist. After the initial consultation, the orthopedic surgeon will select suitable silicone devices that will bringthe he alth of the feet will only benefit and not harm.
When selecting silicone orthopedic structures, the doctor should rely on the problems that need to be solved, as well as correctly determine the size and shape of the future product.
How to apply silicone heel pads for spurs and other orthotics
Heel spurs are a problem most commonly caused by wearing uncomfortable shoes (including high heels), being overweight, and putting too much stress on the feet.
To solve it, specialists prescribe heel pads for shoes, orthopedic insoles made of silicone, etc. Their main task is to relieve the load on the feet, maintaining the normal anatomical position of the feet in the presence of a heel spur. In order to avoid slipping and the patient feeling discomfort, it is necessary to fix the products to the shoes using an adhesive fixative with a special protective coating.
Silicone orthotics cannot cure heel spurs. Getting rid of this problem requires a varied and long-term therapy. Nevertheless, judging by the reviews of patients, they unload the feet as much as possible and relieve unpleasant and painful sensations. The best option is to use heel pads and insoles at the same time.
Purchasing recommendations and prices for silicone orthotics
It is best to buy silicone insoles, heel pads and other designs only on medical prescription and after careful orthopedicexaminations. The cost at the same time depends on their final quality, store rating, purpose of use and design format.
For example, even for people with low incomes, heel pads are available for heel spurs, the price of which is usually about 800 rubles. Callus inserts cost about 150 rubles, insoles to increase height - about 900 rubles, cushions for shoe heels - about 350 rubles, toe separators - about 200 rubles, anti-slip pads and orthopedic wedges - about 1,000 rubles.
Reviews about silicone orthopedic constructions
People who use insoles, heel pads and other orthopedic products made of silicone note their convenience and comfort when wearing, the absence of an unpleasant odor. According to patients, silicone constructions help to reduce the load on the legs, eliminate the feeling of discomfort and pain in the feet, allow you to adjust the size of shoes, prevent the appearance of corns and calluses, and further rubbing of the fingers.
