Basketball is played on a hard court and with long spans of time in between breaks. Players must also run up and down the court to switch between offense and defense, and the stop-and-go activity can lead to the heel being used often as a brake. It's no surprise that the heel can become injured during this sport, but the cause of the pain is not quite as simple. There are several reasons you may have injured your heel, and whether or not an insole can help you depends on the reason you are injured.
Types of Pain
Pain in the heel can come in different forms. You may notice the pain has developed suddenly and is sharp and stabbing, but heel pain can also develop gradually and feel more dull. The pain may develop when the heel impacts with the basketball court, or you may first notice it while running the floor or even when sitting on the bench. Pain may be accompanied by inflammation and swelling in the heel.
Possible Causes
Heel pain can be caused by impact -- this may occur if you step on a sharp or hard object with the heel, or if you impact the floor hard when playing basketball. Plantar fasciitis is also possible, particularly if your basketball shoes provide your foot with poor support, especially in the arch. According to Dr. Johnny Lin, the heel of a child may be in pain due to Sever's disease, a condition in which one foot bone is incompletely fused to the heel and becomes painful when placed under high levels of stress such as contact sports like basketball. You may have also suffered a stress fracture, which can occur in bones that are exposed to much greater amounts of stress than they are accustomed to.
Effects of Insoles
Insoles are designed to alleviate and correct a wide range of problems in the foot. Pronation and supination are common conditions treated with insoles, but you can also get insoles that have extra padding to support the heel. This can be useful in healing injuries caused by blunt force to the heel. In other conditions, though, where heel pain is the product of gradual stress rather than impact, wearing an insole may prove negligible in helping your injury heal.
Considerations
Although insoles are effective in relieving pain for some individuals struggling with sore heels, it is possible that the benefits will be limited or nonexistent, depending on the cause of your pain. In some cases, full recovery may require some time spent completely resting the heel. You should not override a doctor's recommendation for treatment by using insoles -- this can make it hard for the injury to heal and may lead to the development of scar tissue and bone spurs.
