Best flat shoes for plantar fasciitis?

[Thedarksideofthemoon30]

It’s ruining my life, after a day of shopping I’m in absolute agony and can’t even get off the sofa. My heel and ankles hurt 😩

I wear a lot of 50s dresses with or without tights and normally just wear cheap flat ballet shoes. I really need to find something comfortable but that doesn’t look old as I’m only 30.

Thank y ou!

Crocs in the house and then arch supports that go inside my shoes.

Yes to arch supports, decent insoles etc. Ballet flats and things with no support are the work of the devil and will cause/make worse PF. I wear fit flops - they make loads of different ones now. I also swear by MBTs (with the rocking sole a poster mentioned) - changed my life!

I was wearing flat shoes for PF and a colleague told me she had been told not to wear flat shoes. I found wearing wedges (but not too high) helped

Oofos round the house (ugly as hell recovery shoes but wearing them as slippers makes a massive difference), orthotics from the podiatrist (about £50 for the standard ones) and these exercises

Ice when really painful. Never go barefoot or in flat sandals for long.

I had bad PF during and after pregnancy then stupidly ran and injured one side. These steps are all helping me as recommended by the podiatrist.

Fitflop s helped mine after many months.

Haflinger clogs. They are magical for getting rid of the pain from plantar fasciitis.

I’ve just bought Skechers archfit trainers and they’re definitely helping my PF. Short term high arch shoes/trainers and custom orthotics but long term you’ll need to work on stretching your Achilles and calves (toe scrunches help too) as well as strengthening the ankle joint area so you don’t fall so heavily onto your arches as you land your foot. Gait analysis can help but search out a physio/podiatrist who specialises in this rather than a sports shop cause it’s not as simple as ‘over pronating’. It’s a long old road to recovery!

Those who have said fit flops......

1. are you sure - they aren’t cheap!
2. which style (or is it any)? I don’t want to get the wrong ones (see above).

Mine has got better with proper stretching (before running and before I get out of bed) and rolling my foot on two tennis balls strapped together during the day though.

Mine has got better with a combination of arch support and exercise (calf stretches, calf massage, massage soles of feet over a tennis ball, yoga downward facing dog stretch). At its worst 4 years ago I could barely walk, now I'm fine without orthotics quite a lot of the time, can walk around the house barefoot again etc. If I feel it starting again I get straight back to orthotics and stretching till its gone.

Mine are fit flop Lulu slides. They are less like flip flops so I can wear them to work. I used those, combined with low block heeled boots with a gel insert, in the winter. I also did the alphabet stretch I
Every morning....writing each letter ode alphabet with my toes before getting out of bed and lots of point and bend exercises.

People say you need proper arch support but when my plantar fasciitis was at its worst, so I could hardly walk, the only footwear that actively improved it was some cheap Amazon flipflops with tiny massage buds on the soles like these

I definitely recommend using them around the house or on short errands. I guess it is the massage effect but the agonising pain in my heel lessens when I wear them. Nothing else helps.

I wear very uncool Sketchers trainers for longer walks as they were voted best on a women's plantar shoes site. Can't think of anything worse than ballet flats though. They might even have caused it.

@ThatWouldBeEnough honestly, the pain I had from PF, I would have paid a million pounds for a pair of shoes that meant I wasn't in agony. I have two pairs that I wear for work - I'm a cover teacher and walk a lot so they are perfect for me. Are the glamorous? Nope, but they're not totally awful either. I usually get away with wearing them 3/4 days a week and 'normal' shoes/boots the other days.

@OrchidLass

I agree - at its worst I used to dread getting out of bed because I knew I wouldn’t be able to walk properly. Especially if one of the kids called me up in the night - I used to crawl up the stairs.

I’m wfh atm so don’t really care how ugly they are and tbh I’ve never been known for my high end fashion sense!!

Do hunt around for FitFlops - I’ve found them heavily discounted in the past. They’re rarely dirt cheap but 50% off should be achievable.

My personal favourites are ASICS trainers and walking shoes - their stability range. But once you’ve got it under control the key is to bin your ballet flats and Converse and replace them with more supportive shoes - think Stan Smith instead of Converse and loafers instead of ballet flats.

I saw podiatrist, she recommended trainers with cushioned sole. With insoles that were measured for me, made a huge difference to the PF. Google exercises that can help too. It’s a really painful condition, I hope it improves soon for you OP.

Yes sorry ditch the ballet flats - I wore them constantly when young and they have ruined my feet.

I second Crocs, Birkenstocks, decent trainers or docs with orthotic inserts.

I also highly endorse yoga - its the only thing that has helped me and has bought my feet back to near normal, all the downward dog poses have really stretched my feet back to shape. I now hardly get it unless I walk a real long way - used to have it so bad in the mornings but that has gone post yoga which is great.

I have started wearing this at night and whilst fugly as hell, it makes a massive difference

Plantar Fasciitis Night Splint, https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07K5CJ37V/ref=cmswwemrrmtdpp_RD05K6EPCM27F1MQ4TMQ

There are fitflops on sale here www.secretsales.com/browse/products/shop-by/brand_code/fitflop/page/2/

Skechers for outside and I've just ordered a pair of Revs (I think they were originally the Kenkoh brand) from Amazon for around the house. They were £60 so not cheap, but at this point I'm willing to try anything!

Ballet flats really will kill your feet. There's zero support and the worst thing you can do with PF is walk barefoot, which is basically what you're doing in those. I'd try trainers and reflexology shoes for a few weeks and see if it makes a difference. Although that does require adapting your style for a while!

Fitflops do have arch support, that’s the whole point.
100% they worked
I have boots, sandals and flip flops