shoes for plantar fasciitis

maiaroman18

I have plantar fasciitis. I do have a pair of custom inserts (used to see a podiatrist) that I wear in my daily sneakers (Chucks), but I'm looking for a good pair of shoes to wear on the gym. I know Brooks Beast/Aerial are good, but are there any others?

Thanks!

Guamybear

I had it really bad or awhile and used new balance shoes.. with inserts.

bradwwood

what about getting some over the counter insert? I hear the Superfeet implants help a lot of folks with that condition.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KKTPD8/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

mandy4620

maiaroman18, if you have a local running store, i'd recommend being fitted by an expert. especially if you're willing to shell out $$$ for a good shoe. they will watch you walk/run and gauge your gait, pronation and arches. i'm a beginning runner, and was just diagnosed with PF, and i'm in treatment .... so i haven't had a chance to try my new brooks (sorry, don't know the specific type, but i will check when i get home.)

squeakyfish

I've had PF for about 7 years now. Every once in awhile, it rears it's ugly head and flares up. Things I've learned from podiatrists, physical therapists, and experience:
Never go barefoot

Stay out of flip flops - you need supportive shoes. Chucks aren't good shoes to be in as an every day shoe - you might want to look for something with better support for daily use. I can get away with a day here and there of cute shoes (read non-supportive), but my daily shoes have to be either tennis shoes or another supportive shoe. Orthoheels are pricey, but they really are fantastic and are not nearly as ugly as most good shoes.

Wear tennis shoes as much as you can while it's flaring. I really like asics - it's what I always come back to, but I have brooks as well. I've worn New Balance in the past. It's all what works best for your feet. A running shop is really great to help you with this decision. I went in, told them my foot issues and what brands I usually liked and they helped me find a couple of pairs that really worked for me (considering my usage, gait, arch height, etc.)

Don't bother with store bought inserts. They really don't help. If it's really bad, then you may need custom orthotics, but store-bought are pretty useless. If you have good tennis shoes, you won't need inserts.

Icing the affected area a couple of times a day is great. Also, use a tennis ball to massage the area. Put it under your bare foot and roll it back and forth. If you can afford the PT, it really is helpful. There are a lot of exercises that they can teach you that will help to ensure that this does not become a chronic condition. Give it time. It may take a couple of weeks for it to completely heal up. You can't rush it, but you can reinjure it if you try to do too much too fast.

The only time it really bothers me now is when I get lazy and spend too much time barefoot. Take care of it now before you start to develop heel spurs from it. There's really nothing you can do, but live with those, and taking care of the PF will help ensure they don't become a problem.

I hope there's something in here that will help you. I know how bad it hurts! Hope you get relief soon.

maiaroman18

I have custom inserts (and they cost me an arm and a leg), which is why I can wear the Chucks. I've worn them every day for years with the inserts and not one problem, EVER. I have one of those fancy boots I put on at night to stretch out my foot... I've spent a lot of time and money at the foot doctor for this (and multiple surgeries for bone spurs). I'm just lazy and don't want to have to take the inserts out and put them in my gym shoes; I want good, supportive shoes on their own.

I had tried the doctor scholl's inserts once, and my feet hurt so bad.

But the second I put my gym shoes on and get on the treadmill, I feel like I'm going to die. I used to have the Brooks Aerial, but they wore out after 9 months, and I never got another pair.

camberwellbeauty

I had PF for a few years and I used to wear made to measure inserts, and I thought they were really painful to wear, and I never got used to them, as I spend all my working day standing, I needed something that eased the burning in my poor feet. Thank goodness for CROCS...yes CROCS, those ugly brightly coloured shoes, but they eased my feet like nothing else could, of course I couldn't wear them to work, but I did wear the croc shoes for a while, I'm so pleased my PF only plays up very rarely now, and my one piece of advice to you is try some crocs while your at home, i really can't live without mine.....good luck...x

Crosbinium

I suggest going to a running store and getting fitted for the sneaker brand/type best for your foot. I did that and ended up with New Balances and am really happy with them. I am on my second pair!

Guamybear

I was lucky my insurance paid for my inserts or I would have died paying for them..

maiaroman18

I was lucky my insurance paid for my inserts or I would have died paying for them..

Mine were billed to my insurance, but I had a deductible to meet first. Let's just say I didn't have to pay any other medical out of pocket the rest of the year...

cinrn68

I had PF when I switched from wearing Nikes to wearing New Balance. I've recently started running and wanted to have a proper evaluation, so I went to the local Running Room store to get evaluated. I tried Asics, Saucony, but the most comfortable shoe, once again (for me) was Nike. I guess I was a loyal customer for a reason!

macdiver

Despite what the person above said about being barefoot, there are quite a few anecdotal reports of people being healed from walking barefoot. One of the cause of PF is weak foot muscles. Orthotics just weaken the foot muscles more. Walking barefoot strengthens the muscles in the feet. Of course a Podiatrist will not agree with this. They make their money selling orthotics and shoes not telling people that being barefoot (which is free) is good for the foot.

Before someone wants evidence there are no double blind studies to refer to. I wish there were.

twoboysnmygirl

Despite what the person above said about being barefoot, there are quite a few anecdotal reports of people being healed from walking barefoot. One of the cause of PF is weak foot muscles. Orthotics just weaken the foot muscles more. Walking barefoot strengthens the muscles in the feet. Of course a Podiatrist will not agree with this. They make their money selling orthotics and shoes not telling people that being barefoot (which is free) is good for the foot.

Before someone wants evidence there are no double blind studies to refer to. I wish there were.

I have to agree with this. I had PF for 10 months and I tried everything and followed all the typical instructions: rolling, icing, inserts, no barefoot...but then summer hit and I just could NOT wear shoes with inserts. I started wearing flip-flops, going barefoot more, and found some info on foot strengthening exercises (that you do barefoot) and changed to more minimalistic running shoes and my PF is gone. I'm finally able to run for the first time in a year.

mombieocalypse

I love my Asics. I had them fitted at FleetFeet. I had PF and couldn't afford the inserts so on a friend's recommendation I got new sneaks and after about a month the pain went away. I had to switch to New Balance when mine were discontinued and they did not really work well for me. I just went back this week and was fitted with a new pair of asics. I definitely recommend the professional fit.

angel_bear60

i've had pf for over 20 yrs and have heel spurs also. i have custom orthodics from a podiatrist, wear new balance tennis shoes 660 up to 1000 (feels like walking on air), but i live in my burkenstocks. they form to the foot and give you negative heel so it stretches the muscle that causes pf. also have been doing for years every morning before getting out of bed, i keep a bath towel next to the bed, i put it around the ball of my foot and pull both endsw towards me to stretch that muscle for several minutes so that there's less chance of it flaring up. i don't walk barefoot unless i have to because it causes pain. i ice it several times a day and use the tennis ball under the foot usually while watching tv. hope this helps

TurangaLeela

Here's my own anecdotal story. Don't just massage the bottom of your foot. The fascia is connected to your calf muscle. Stretch, stretch, stretch that calf. I'll be standing at work, pumping gas, etc. are good times to stretch for a few seconds. Also, I went to CVS and bought cocoa butter gel oil. Massage the calf and Achilles tendon. Then, using one hand, pull up the toes of the bad foot and massage the bottom of the foot using the knuckles of the other hand (again, the gel oil helps it glide). I have had considerably fewer problems since I started focussing more on the calf and less on the foot.

maiaroman18

Despite what the person above said about being barefoot, there are quite a few anecdotal reports of people being healed from walking barefoot. One of the cause of PF is weak foot muscles. Orthotics just weaken the foot muscles more. Walking barefoot strengthens the muscles in the feet. Of course a Podiatrist will not agree with this. They make their money selling orthotics and shoes not telling people that being barefoot (which is free) is good for the foot.

Before someone wants evidence there are no double blind studies to refer to. I wish there were.

I have to agree with this. I had PF for 10 months and I tried everything and followed all the typical instructions: rolling, icing, inserts, no barefoot...but then summer hit and I just could NOT wear shoes with inserts. I started wearing flip-flops, going barefoot more, and found some info on foot strengthening exercises (that you do barefoot) and changed to more minimalistic running shoes and my PF is gone. I'm finally able to run for the first time in a year.

It's better than it was. When I had a job standing for 10 hours, I was getting shots in my feet all the time. I'm just happy to be able to walk barefoot around the house, because before, I was spent after work and couldn't even walk. Guess I'm going to break out the ice pack tonight. I just can't afford to go back to the way things were.

tjham1

The farthest I can walk barefooted is from the bed to the bathroom. I had hard orthotics but I HATED them. Waste of money. I spend most of the year in flip flops and have had the most relief. I only get flip flops made of EVA material, although it doesn't usually tell you that on the label. I just know now what they feel like. Just the right amount of "give". Reef flip flops are usually EVA and they feel fabulous!

EVA is one of the materials popularly known as expanded rubber or foam rubber. EVA foam is used as padding in equipment for various sports such as ski boots, bicycle saddles, hockey pads, boxing and mixed martial arts gloves and helmets, wakeboard boots, waterski boots, fishing rods and fishing reel handles. It is typically used as a shock absorber in sports shoes, for example. EVA is used in orthotics.

Courage

I've had PF for about 5 years and it's a real pain. I found the exercises from TurangaLeela combined with burkenstocks or SAS shoes have help me. Hope you find something that works for you.

ezrida

Try to tape your foot.
I have found Taping very useful. Taping helps to relieve the pain, keeps your foot from getting injured again and helps you get through your daily routine and exercises. There is a good web-page explaining the subject in :
http://www.plantar-fasciitis-elrofeet.com/plantar_fasciitis_taping.html

LadyPakal

I have a high instep (arch) and walking barefoot for me was no good. I wore shoes with good arch support all the time until it was gone. No more problems since then.

CarlieeBear

My PF is much better since I've lost weight.

My running shoe of choice is Saucony .. super cushy heels. The shoes sold here ( http://www.hokaoneone.eu/en/catalog.html ) are said to be amazing, but I haven't tried them (yet).

I use an arc trainer/elliptical instead of a treadmill. The treadmill still hurts if I run.

A shoe saleswoman said that strengthening your calf muscles helps.

halleymw

The american acacamy of podiatric sports medicine has a list of shoes they recommend.

http://www.aapsm.org/crishoe.html

Mike

upsidedownjelly

They aren't necessarily running shoes, but I live in Keens. When I first got PF, I was wearing Brooks for running and for work, but they absolutely killed me. Switched to Keens for work (took a year off running) and now I almost never have any problems.

I now run in Vibram 5 Fingers, since after a horrific rugby ankle injury, they're the only thing that don't jam my foot in weird angles. But its all about what works for you. Get fitted and all that.

VastBreak

Really depends on your feet..shoes fit differently for each person. Depending on what type of support you need will depend on which shoes will fit and feel better!