Barefoot shoes and Plantar fasciitis?

[Mypoorfeet]

I have plantar fasciitis and was wondering if anyone with it had ever tried a barefoot shoe and if it helped or made it worse? Thanks

I swapped almost all my shoes for vionics and bought insoles for my few remaining non-vionic shoes. I can't wear anything without a raised arch these days.

Not sure what a barefoot shoe is but apart from doing the exercises, I have found that you need to
wear an elastic sock (see Amazon)
always wear supportive shoes, even indoors
wear orthotics in your shoes if you can
avoid backless shoes (my favourite)

I had plantar fasciitis and can now wear barefoot shoes. However, it took me a long time to train my feet to needing less or no support. I would heartily recommend Katy Bowman's book on foot pain (she's a biomechanic). She looks at natural, functional movement- she calls it nutritious movement. If you have a massive flare up, you need to let it calm down first. Gradually, wear shoes with less and less support. I now do not need orthotics or support, but it took me 18months to 2 yrs. The plantar fasciitis is better now and I can wear a variety of shoe styles.

Sadly my barefoot shoes instantly set off PF. I'm gutted because they are so comfortable at the time, but if I wear them for a day at work, the next day I can guarantee it will be excruciating to get out of bed.

I have to wear old lady Clark's jobs.

Following, currently have debilitating foot pain, physio not sure it’s PF, have bought a pair of Oofos slider type shoes, wearing inside house at the moment. They really give relief to the pain I have.

I almost exclusively wear barefoot shoes (vivo, saguaro and certain altra models). It got rid of my PF but I did also do a shit load of foot strengthening exercises as well.

Yes, they worked brilliantly for me. Only problem is I now can't bear to wear anything else. They were recommended to me by a friend who also suffered from PF, but I wonder if it worked because it wasn't that severe. I definitely feel my feet are so much better now though

Birkenstocks are brilliant for PF, I have the trainers and even the fleecy slippers and rarely wear any other footwear, when I do I can feel the pain of the PF starting to come back..

I have PF in my right foot which strangely & coincidentally started last May when my mum got diagnosed with terminal cancer & seemed to calm down then flare up again when she died in September.

Now it's calming down again... the most important thing I've done is to lose a stone in weight. 'Take the load off' as the charming physio said.
Plus I bought vionics high arch supports £19 a pair from Amazon, and replaced the insoles in my Adidas & New Balance trainers that I wear every day.
When it's painful I get a frozen water bottle from the freezer and roll it on the sole of my foot as much as I can bear.
Also I do the stretches that the physio at occupational health department gave me when I remember.

I just can't believe how much better it is, from literally limping round work & in agony all the time to walking normally & no pain now.

Nothing helped my pf except naproxen and time. Tried a variety of shoes and insoles.
I do know what caused it though so can advise don’t walk all day in crap wellies because you are looking after horses in winter. The next year I bought Aigle parcours and never had pf again.

I found a pair of Vionic shoes in a local charity shop for £3! They've been amazing with my sore feet. Just bought another pair as I can't see myself wearing anything else.

@quirkychick did/do you overpronate? Just wondering if there is hope for me to be able to go barefoot one day!

I ended up seeing a podiatrist who diagnosed severe overpronation caused by hyper mobility in my ankles. I wear Birkenstocks as slippers in the house now, ASICS kayano trainers for running/gym and make sure to use the special insoles the podiatrist had made in my regular shoes and boots (which I replace once they stop being supportive - rather than wearing them until they develop holes and literally fall apart like I used to). Haven't had any pain since doing all this. But it is annoying not being able to go barefoot.

Get insoles much cheaper and it's effective.

Mine took about 6 months to go overall.

Thanks all. I have tried various shoes brands..toffeln, finn comfort, sole bliss....yes and old granny clarkes. Also insoles.

I am doing katy bowman's stretching which do help a good deal and also trying to lose weight.

The barefoot shoe like thishttps://www.vivobarefoot.com/uk/womens might help

@BoxFoxSocks I pronate outwards, if that makes sense. I was wearing Birkenstock sandals and graduated to tevas, which have some support but less than Birks. I still have birkenstock slippers, but also some Celtic & Co barefoot slippers. I swap around from time to time. I would massively recommend Vivobarefoot and also their reconditioned website Revivo.

I suffered terribly with PF. Rolling a tennis ball under my foot, as often as I could manage, cured it.