Patent ID: 7506459

Claim:
A removable ball of the foot insert for placement into footwear at a position in correspondence with a forefoot portion of the footwear, comprising: a substantially planar member made from a viscoelastic gel, the planar member including a lower surface and an upper surface; and a plurality of spaced apart spring walls formed from a viscoelastic gel and extending from the lower surface of the planar member at a predetermined area corresponding to a ball of the foot when the insert is placed into the footwear, for separating bones of second and third metatarsals of the foot, said spring walls having heights that generally decrease outwardly from a center of said predetermined area; wherein the viscoelastic gel of the planar member has a hardness greater than a hardness of the viscoelastic gel of the spring walls; wherein said viscoelastic gel comprises a tackifier; and wherein said insert comprises a low friction cover layer secured to said upper surface.