How do I Cushion Shoe Soles to Stop Back Pain?

Using an insert in your shoes may help alleviate lower back pain by distributing your body's weight evenly on your feet. Shoe inserts, known as orthotics, can be used inside the front or the back of the shoe or across the whole sole. Relatively inexpensive inserts can be found in drugstores. Podiatrists and chiropractors can measure for custom-made orthotics, which are expensive.

Things You'll Need

• Full-length mirror
• Orthotic inserts

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Instructions

• 1

  Carrying a heavy load on one side can pull the torso out of line.

  Look into a mirror and try to determine if you are standing or walking off-kilter because of ill-fitting shoes, high-heels, shoes with no support, fallen arches or carrying a big load on the back or shoulder. Walking one minute can have the equivalent force on the body of lifting 800 to 1,000 pounds on each leg. That force sends shock waves up the leg into the lower back. Tilting the body, even imperceptively, can shift the weight load on each leg, throwing the back out of line.

• 2

  Wear gel pads inside the shoe that are intended to absorb the force of each step. The pads are widely available in drugstores.

• 3

  High-heeled shoes can alter the line of the spine, causing back pain.

  Use insoles created especially for high-heel shoes that are designed so weight and force are taken off the ball of the foot and shifted to the heel.