How to Fit Heel Cups – The Most Effective Way to Fit Heel Cups Inside Your Kids’ Shoes!
Has your child been complaining about heel pain? Have you taken your child to your physical or occupational therapist and has been diagnosed with Sever’s disease or plantar fasciitis? After you have identified which heel cup is best for your child’s feet, the next step is to make sure they fit perfectly inside your kids’ shoes. If the heel cups don’t fit correctly inside your kids’ shoes, your child won’t get any of the benefits that the heel cups have to offer.
Heel pain in children happens more often than you imagine, and this is mostly because they are wearing the wrong pair of shoes, but sometimes it’s due to having a foot condition such as flat feet, weak ankles, or low muscle tone. Follow my simple two step method to make sure that your kids’ heel cups are fitting correctly inside the shoes.
How to Fit Heel Cups – Follow These Two Simple Steps!
1️⃣ First Step: Make Sure you Have the Correct Type of Shoes
Heel cups are not able to fit in any type of shoe. The shoes need to provide extra depth to allow the heel cups to fit deeply inside the shoes. If the heel cups don’t fit deeply inside the shoes, your kids will get the impression that their feet are coming out of the shoes.
Let me show you the difference when a heel cup is fitted in a pair of shoes that provide extra depth versus a pair that doesn’t. Do you notice how the heel cup on the left shoe is fitting a lot deeper compared to the shoe on the right?
Let’s take a look at an image from a different angle:
I always recommend parents provide their children with a pair of shoes that come with shoelaces instead of velcro closure. The main reason for this is that shoes that come with shoelaces provide better support and stability. A pair of shoes with shoelaces also helps push the child’s heels back and secure them against the back of the shoes.
2️⃣ Second Step: Apply my Special Shoe Lacing Technique
There is a particular shoe lacing technique that I use for children who wear heel cups or orthotics inside their shoes. This technique is extremely effective as it pushes the kids’ heels back supporting them and securing them against the back of the shoes.
➡️ Start by leaving the two top eyelets (small holes of the shoe) of each side of the shoes open – take a look at the image below for clarification.
➡️ Grab the shoelaces and go through the top hole first as shown in the image below.
➡️ The last step is to go through the holes you left open.
If you follow these two steps, your child will get the full benefits that the heel cups have to offer and you will notice how the pain will be greatly reduced or eliminated.
I have had the opportunity to help several children that were dealing with heel pain to minimize and in most cases, fully eliminate the pain that they were experiencing by fitting them in a pair of heel cups and good supportive shoes. It’s important to understand that the heel cups and the shoes work together in reducing or eliminating your child’s heel pain.
Supportive and Deep Shoes for Fitting Your Child’s Heel Cups
I created a different resource that has a list of supportive and deep shoes for children who wear heel cups.
Do You Need to Remove the Original Insoles Before Fitting the Heel Cups?
No, you don’t need to remove the original insoles of your kids’ shoes when placing the heel cups, just place the heel cup on top of the shoe insoles.
Do You Have the Correct Type of Heel Cups? – Let’s Find Out
I have found a particular heel cup that offers superior shock absorption – minimizes the impact that the feet take when they come in contact with the ground and prevents foot fatigue – it prevents your kids’ feet and legs from easily getting tired by returning energy.
This is the most advanced shock-absorbing heel cup available today. I have fitted this heel cup before and I have seen the positive outcome that it has if fitted with the correct type of shoes.
The Best Heel Cup to Treat and Prevent Heel Pain
- Ideal to treat and prevent general heel pain, plantar fasciitis, Sever’s disease, excessive pronation, Achilles tendonitis
- Innovative multi-cell, multi-layer waffle pattern design, helps to absorb impact pressure (shock) and return impact energy back to the feet
- The extra cushion this heel cup includes reduces and prevents sore heels and shin splints
- Small Size – Fits from a little kid shoe size 10.5 to a big kid shoe size 6. Best for children under 80 lbs.
- Regular Size – Fits big kid shoe size 6 and above. Weight up to 175 lbs.
The 3 most important benefits of wearing heel cups are:
➡️ Preventing long-term foot problems.
➡️ Accommodating every contour and feature of the children’s foot.
➡️ Providing better balance and proper support.
Heel Cups for Sport Shoes – Reduce the Impact on Your Kids’ Feet!
When children get involved in a particular sport such as soccer, football, baseball, or basketball, they are stressing their feet and legs at a whole different level.
I have helped several children that were experiencing heel pain after their soccer games or even during soccer practice, by fitting them in the correct type of heel cups. If you have a child that is playing sports and experiencing heel pain, the heel cup I showed you will significantly reduce or fully eliminate your child’s heel pain.
Do You Think Your Child Will Benefit More from Wearing Orthotics?
If after trying the heel cups I recommend with a pair of good supportive shoes your child still complains of heel pain, then your child might need to be fitted for an orthotic.
Never ignore your child’s heel pain, is not normal and there are various ways of reducing or fully eliminating the pain. If you have any doubts about how to fit heel cups inside your kids’ shoes do not hesitate to contact me:
fittingchildrensshoes@gmail.com
How to Fit Heel Cups Inside Your Kids’ Sports Shoes – Watch Video!
If your child is experiencing heel pain during or after his/her soccer games, you should fit a pair of Tuli’s heel cups inside their cleats. The video below will show you how to fit them correctly!
Children between the ages of 4 and 8 are at the most risk of developing Sever’s disease, which is an inflammatory condition of your kids’ growth plate in the heel bone, and it happens because children tend to put a lot of stress and pressure on the growth plate.