What is Shoe Cushioning?

Cushioning is the easy part to feel and the easy part to get wrong. The magic is in the balance.

Cushioning is the padding you have in your shoes. It aids with shock absorption, and limits movement in the shoe, while at the same time surrounding your foot in cloud-like cushiony goodness.

It didn’t take a genius to figure that one out. So instead of going on any further about what cushioning is, we’re going to explain how getting the right amount of cushioning where it’s needed in your shoes has huge health benefits. When you get the balance right not only will your shoes feel amazing, they’ll be practical and healthy too.

The Comfort Co ensures we only work with brands who take cushioning seriously. We’re not about comfort for comfort’s sake. We give the ‘Goldilocks’ (“this cushioning is juuuuuuust right”) test to every shoe in our range to ensure that they don’t just feel good, but are doing good as well.

The Role of Cushioning in Shoes

Makes shoes more comfortable.

This is pretty self-explanatory. When you think of “comfort”, you’ll generally think of pillows, soft fluffy robes, maybe a puppy. Cushioning is a cushion, of course it’s comfortable, but there’s more to it than that.

Cushioning is a vital protective barrier between your feet and the ground. Without it, you may as well be barefoot. It absorbs shock which reduces the stress placed on your joints by movement,¹ especially during high-impact activities like running or jumping.

The right cushioning in the right places vastly reduces discomfort and fatigue. Allowing you to do more, and recover better.

Impact of Cushioning on Foot Health

Practical, well distributed cushioning doesn’t just benefit you in the short term. It can also have lasting ramifications for your long term health too. Shoes with a good balance of cushioning maintain healthy feet and can prevent foot-related problems.

Stability and shock absorption provided greatly lowers risk of stress fractures and shin splints,² and a soft base can immediately give relief to Plantar Fasciitis.

The Danger of Over-Cushioned Shoes

While it may be tempting to cut a hole in your pillowcase and walk around all day with that on your feet, the dangers of doing so would catch up on you sooner rather than later. When the cushioning balance is wrong it can cause a myriad of problems down the track. Here are the problems it can cause.

Reduced Stability

Some shoes are built like the pillow feet example we gave before. While this might be comfortable in the short term, this type of cushioning can be cumbersome. A good pair of shoes should be a cataclysm of form and function.

Excessive cushioning can stop your shoes from being streamlined, causing an unstable gait and putting you off balance. This wildly increases your likelihood of trips and falls.

Diminished Foot Strength

Use it or lose it! An over-cushioned shoe can cause you to not use several very important muscles in your feet. This is fine in the short term, but over a period of time this can cause those muscles to diminish. In turn this can lead to rapid fatigue or even serious injury from small amounts of movement.

Masking Underlying Issues

“Slip a cushion on it, it’ll be fine!”

When your shoes are excessively padded the symptoms of whatever might be hurting your foot (such as stress fractures or plantar fasciitis) can seem manageable. Yes, it still hurts to walk. But you can do it. Which can give you a “she’ll be right” attitude about it meaning you avoid getting actual treatment.

Unfortunately, this is almost guaranteed to make it worse.

For example, padding can immediately give relief to the symptoms of Plantar Fasciitis. But to properly fix it you need a mixture of padding and Arch Support. As well as stretches, ice and heat therapy, strengthening exercises, and anti-inflammatories (note: if that doesn’t work, see your podiatrist).

Too much cushioning can mask or ignore the root causes of discomfort or pain. Instead of addressing the problem, you’ll get further complications down the line.

The Bottom Line

Investing in well-designed footwear with thoughtful cushioning can lead to a more comfortable and healthier walking or running experience in the long run. Take the time to find the right balance, and your feet will thank you.

The Comfort Co meticulously vets every shoe we have for sale. We’ve worked closely with our designers to ensure our range is just right and we will only work with brands that do the same.