Dr. Frederick's Original Metatarsal Pads - 4 Pieces - Ball of Foot Cushions for Rapid Pain Relief - Gel Foot Pads - Shoe Inserts for Men and Women...

I bought a few sets of these pads a few years ago and ordered a new set in 7/24. Sadly I returned them because the size/design has been changed. In the listing you'll see the silicone loop is meant to be placed on the toe next to the big toe. But on the new set the loop is basically twice as big and the pad does not stay in place. See photo. Because of the size and stretch of the loop the pad moved around under the foot and needs consistent adjusting during the day. My feet are a woman's 9 medium. Perhaps the new design is meant to fit on a larger foot, but for me the larger toe loop allows too much movement under my foot and doesn't work to give the support needed to the ball of my foot area.

These are fantastic. I have a problem with hard skin in my right foot metatarsal area, which makes walking on it uncomfortable. I do a lot of walking. Despite trying to remove the hard skin it is still painful in that area. These gel like metatarsal pads that are anchored by a toe loop totally take away that pain and discomfort and I can again walk without pain. They come 4 in a pack. Well worth the $12.

These have been good at helping relieve some of my foot pain. They were a little thicket than the previous ones that I had used, but not so thick that they caused discomfort. The price was really good! These are a little difficult to get on if you have socks that don't have give in them at the top because they don't stay in place well when you are putting your socks on. Once you do get your socks on, they will stay in place just fine.

First of all, this is nice and squishy and does help with the pain in the ball of my foot. It is the perfect size and thickness for some of my shoes, especially those with a form-fitting mid-foot and throat area, place where anything thicker would make the shoe tight on your foot. That's the good part. There are two things I find fault with. First, like others, it is difficult to keep this in place when you put your foot in your shoe. It will slide around. I used someone else's suggestion of using medical tape to secure in place. That works but it is tedious having to do this every time you wear them. Second, I can't be the only one who is totally bugged by the toe loop. Either my toes are extra sensitive from the pain in the ball of my foot or mine are just made wrong. It drove me nuts! My overall solution? I snipped off the toe loop and removed the soles of my shoe. I determined where the ball of my foot would be placed and then I used medical tape to tape the pad to the sole and then reinserted it in my shoe. It stays and you don't have to do the tape thing every time. Of course, if you need these for multiple pairs of shoes, you will need to buy more of these.

Okay, so it did help with the specific part of my foot that out was designed for, the ball of my foot, metatarsal specifically would start to hurt after walking a bunch of specifically doing workout stuff, elliptical running etc. So, it did feel good for a while, however after a few hours the rest of my foot started to hurt, which is too be exPected, moving muscles in ways they aren't used to, but that pain has persisted. I stopped wearing the insert after the one day, tried it for a few hours the next day (I work in a kitchen so I'm on my feet all day) I had to take it out because it slipped around in my sock all over the place despite snug socks and shoes. But the sucky thing is I haven't worn them now I over a week, but the nearly unbearable pain in my arch and ankle that didn't exist prior to wearing these is still there. I'm not trying to be a jerk, I'm sure they do a lot of good for some, but my experience is that they've made my foot pain 10x worse. Instead of occasional pain after a long day it's just a near constant pain that I almost feel like I have to go back to the doctor to check out that I didn't get some kind of stress fracture after using these a grand total of about 7 hours over 2 days. TL:DR metatarsal pain relieved, every other part of foot hobbling pain.