These instructions cover everything from putting the lift in your shoe for the first time to fine-tuning it for specific conditions. Read through the whole page once before you start — a few things here are easy to get wrong, and knowing them upfront saves you time.
The Clearly Adjustable heel lift is a multi-layered clear vinyl wedge that goes inside your shoe, under the insole or footbed — not directly under your foot. Each layer is exactly 1mm thick. The lift comes fully assembled at its maximum height of 12mm, and you reduce it by peeling layers off the top. You can go back up at any time by replacing a layer.
Three sizes cover essentially all shoe types. The right size is determined by the width of your shoe's heel pocket — not your shoe size. Sizing instructions are on the sizing page.
The lift is transparent, which means it's nearly invisible inside sandals and open-heel shoes. It's also washable, trimmable with scissors, and doesn't require tape or adhesive to stay in place in most shoes.
For shoes with a removable insole — most athletic shoes, running shoes, and many casual shoes have a footbed that just lifts out. Pick up the back of the insole, slide the lift underneath it into the heel pocket with the smooth side facing up, and replace the insole on top. That's it.
For shoes with a glued-in insole — dress shoes and many traditional shoes have a heel pad glued down. Lift the rear of the insole slowly and carefully to pull it away from the adhesive without tearing it. Place the lift underneath, then press the insole back down. If the insole won't lift without damage, a shoe repair shop can do this for you quickly and inexpensively.
Staying in place: The lift's stair-stepped bottom grips the heel pocket of the shoe and holds itself there in most low-heeled shoes without any adhesive. In high-heeled shoes, or if you find the lift creeping forward, you'll need tape. Use double-faced tape made specifically for this type of plastic — available from G&W Heel Lift. Don't use carpet tape or contact cement; those can soften and degrade the vinyl over time.
Moving between shoes: The lift can be moved from shoe to shoe, but it works best when it's left permanently in one pair. Over time it conforms to the shape of that shoe's heel pocket, and that conforming fit is part of what makes it comfortable.
The lift ships at 12mm — its maximum height. To reduce it, peel layers off the top. Each layer you remove reduces the height by 1mm. To get to 9mm, remove the three longest top layers. To get to 6mm, remove six layers.
One important detail for 6mm and below: When you reduce to 6mm or less by simply removing layers from the top, the lift gets noticeably shorter from front to back, which reduces arch support. A better method is to remove every other layer instead. This keeps the full length of the lift intact while still reducing the effective height. As a bonus, the removed layers can be re-stacked to create a second lift.
Measuring the height correctly: Don't measure at the very back edge of the lift — that's where the curved heel section sits, and it reads slightly lower than the functional height. Measure at the point where the curved back joins the straight sides — that's where your heel bone actually rests. Or simply count the layers from the front edge to the center of your heel. The total number of layers will be two more than the functional height.
If you need to go back up: Replace a layer on top and it will re-adhere on its own. The self-adhesive quality of the layers refreshes if you wash and dry them.
Wash in water with a mild detergent. You can separate the layers to clean them individually, then re-stack and press them together after drying. Washing refreshes the self-adhesive surface between layers, which can weaken slightly over time from foot powder or moisture.
The lift trims easily with scissors. If you need to trim several layers at once, a razor knife works better — or separate the layers, cut them individually, and re-stack. Trimming is useful for fitting the lift to unusually narrow heel pockets, or for making width adjustments for specific shoe styles.
For heel lifts for leg length discrepancy, the lift goes under the insole of the shorter leg's shoe. The goal is for both shoes to feel identical to walk in — which is why firm material placed under the insole works so much better than a foam pad placed on top of it. A foam pad changes the feel of one shoe; a firm lift under the insole doesn't.
Starting height: If you've never worn a heel lift before, don't start at your full correction height. Start at 3mm and add 3mm every two weeks. Bodies that have been compensating for a leg length difference for years need time to adapt to the correction. Jumping straight to 10mm of elevation in one shot often results in new soreness in the back, hips, or knees — not because the lift is wrong, but because the body is adjusting faster than it's comfortable with. Gradual introduction avoids this.
Wear it in every shoe. This is the part people most often skip. The therapeutic benefit of shoe inserts for short leg syndrome depends on consistency — it needs to be in your slippers, your dress shoes, your work boots, your casual shoes. Wearing the lift half the time produces about half the benefit. See the full leg length discrepancy page for more on how and why this works.
For Achilles tendonitis treatment, the lift typically goes in both shoes — not just the side that hurts. Wearing a lift in one shoe only creates a new leg length discrepancy where none existed, which adds a different mechanical problem while trying to fix the original one.
During the healing phase, the lift stays at whatever therapeutic height your healthcare provider recommended. As the tendon heals and your provider gives the go-ahead to reduce elevation, come down 1mm at a time. The Achilles tendon re-lengthens slowly — removing the lift abruptly after months of elevation can re-injure it. The Clearly Adjustable lift's 1mm adjustment increments are exactly what makes gradual tapering practical.
The firm material is essential here. Soft foam lifts allow the heel to move up and down inside the shoe with every step, creating friction directly on the Achilles tendon — which is the opposite of what you're trying to achieve. See the full Achilles tendonitis page for a complete explanation of why firmness matters for tendon therapy.
Most heel lifts are useless in sandals because they're visible, unstable, or both. The transparent vinyl of the Clearly Adjustable lift solves the visibility problem — it takes on the color of the shoe and is nearly invisible underfoot, even in strappy fashion footwear.
For sandals with a footbed that lifts out, placement is the same as any other shoe. For sandals where the footbed is fixed, the lift can be placed directly under the foot with the smooth side up. It's wide enough to stay stable without the heel enclosure of a closed shoe. See the dedicated sandals page for more detail.
To offload a painful pressure point on the heel — a spur, a wart, or any other sensitive spot — cut a hole in one or more of the upper layers of the lift directly below the problem area. When you stand on the lift, the insole above it will indent slightly into that hollow, which redistributes pressure away from the painful spot.
This is more effective and more precise than a gel pad, and it doesn't add any of the compressibility problems that foam or gel brings to the shoe.
The lift can be configured to provide side-to-side angular correction — addressing inward rolling (valgus) or outward rolling (varus) of the ankle — without changing overall heel elevation, and without adding a separate orthotic wedge.
This is done by trimming and rearranging individual layers to shift the height slightly to one side. The adjustment is reversible — replacing the layers in their original positions undoes it. Angular correction of up to 5 degrees is achievable. See the varus/valgus wedging page for the specific technique.
For athletic use, the same rule applies as everywhere else: the lift goes under the insole, smooth side up. Most modern athletic shoes have removable insoles that make this straightforward.
The firm material is non-negotiable in sports footwear. Soft lifts compress under athletic load, which creates heel instability at precisely the moments when stability matters most — cutting, landing, changing direction. A firm lift under the insole doesn't move, doesn't compress, and doesn't affect the shoe's performance characteristics.
For leg length discrepancy heel lift use in athletic shoes, use the same height as in your everyday shoes. Switching to a lower height in your athletic shoes means the correction is inconsistent — and if you train for hours at a time, that inconsistency adds up mechanically.
For golf specifically, research shows that heel lifts shift weight forward onto the ball of the foot, which is exactly the position needed for a powerful, controlled swing. The full research summary is on the golf page.
For more on safe athletic use, see the athletic shoe lifts page.
Purpose
Typical Starting Height: New user — leg length discrepancy 3mm, increase 3mm every 2 weeks
Achilles tendonitis therapy, As prescribed — typically 6–12mm
Athletic heel pocket adjustment: 1–3mm
Golf swing improvement: Experiment from 3mm up
Varus/valgus correction: Layer rearrangement, not height changE
Disclaimer: This content has been compiled from clinical literature and reputable medical sources for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Leg length discrepancy should always be evaluated and managed by a qualified healthcare provider.
Some content on this page has been updated using AI.
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