Do I need new running shoes if my plantar fasciitis is back?

[Squirrelfruitandnutkin]

I have some brooks adrenaline gts12 that I wore when I started c25k a few years ago. They were fitted by a proper running shop and my plantar fasciitis was a dim and distant memory from 2007.

I stopped running and wore them instead as trainers - just walking about with kids etc.

My plantar fasciitis is back all of a sudden and all I can think is that I've walked a lot in them lately.

Are they old and knackered? They've not had heavy use but I'm wondering if they should be replaced?

Any ideas?

I'd replace them - when I get arch pain in the night (only ever the left foot) it magically goes away with new shoes. They don't last forever. You could start with new insoles and see if that helps any, it's the less spendy option.

Isn't the advice change every two or three years?

Well I went to the running shop and talked to a girl there. She said try flexing the shoes, if they are very bendy then they're probably knackered.
The new ones in the shop were really stiff but mine were super flexible.

So £££ later and I have new shoes. I went for a ru. Yesterday and they were pretty good - plantar fasciitis not gone but better than it was! Hoping exercises and better shoes will sort me out.

The problem won't be with your shoes. It will be with your feet and your gait. Plantar fasciitis is a symptom of a muscle not being able to support the load placed on it.

Do lots of calf and hamstring stretches and foot strengthening exercises.

If you need new shoes to get on with what you need to whilst you are suffering then get some, but shoes are never the answer to this. It's a weakness of the foot often made worse by poor alignment. Adding supportive shoes just makes the foot weaker. A heel in a shoe tightens the calves and hamstrings and adds greater load.