Devices for reduction of damage from friction and for prevention and treatment of skin breakdown by relief of friction and shear forces. A friction reducing device may include a pair of thin membranes with low coefficients of friction with respect to each other, and of which one is free to slide through a limited distance along the other. A method of making one such device includes forming a dome in a flexible film and adhesively attaching a skirt surrounding the dome to a skin contact layer. Similar friction reducing devices may be incorporated in shoes, other clothing, or sports equipment or used to protect movable rods or cables.