High heels hurt the ball of my feet - any relief ideas?

[Leah2005]

I'm not even talking particularly high heels. The balls of my feet get very painful and blistered. I generally don't wear them but would like to for evenings out. I can manage to get from car to restaurant but walking more than a few minutes kills me. Does anyone have any recommendations for an insole perhaps? (party feet gels don't help much). I feel like I need something to stick to the bottom of my foot to provide cushioning.

Stop wearing them. I mean, would men wear something that hurt their feet?

Or platforms - they have a heel but are quite comfortable

The only issue with not wearing heels is flats are generally fugly. It is extremely difficult to find a nice, classy flat that doesn't have flowers, bows, sparkles, thick fugly straps, long exaggerated toes or some other god awful eyesore. Heels on the other hand have a lovely shape, come with thin straps, tend not to go to embellishments like bows etc as the shoe itself is lovely. If I could get flats with the uppers of my heels, I'd be very happy. Unfortunately they don't exist.

I suffer the same problem, balls of my feet kill if i wear heels of any height.
Ive also read taping 3rd and 4th toe together is supposed to help.
Have you tried different makes of shoes? lady A lady i work with insists her very high heels are comfy she wears them all day. She insists on certain makes that work for her and a chunky heel rather than stilletto.
Ive also read shoes must be comfortable from the minute you try them on, no oh they will stretch/mold to my feet.
Im in search at the moment of a pair of perfect heels, im trying hotter, vionic, and a few others.
I also find what helps me a little is taking an inner sole out of a pair of sketchers and putting it inside my shoes.

I own A pair of beautiful stiletto heels.
I've never worn them out....
I've spent 30+ years in boots and flats I can no longer tolerate them on my feet.
I call them my sitting down shoes 🤣🤣
I know Victoria Beckham has/had botox injections in the balls of her feet to counteract the pain of the shoes she chooses to wear.
I cannot imagine going that far for fashion.
I hope you find a comfortable solution or alternative.

@k1233

The only issue with not wearing heels is flats are generally fugly. It is extremely difficult to find a nice, classy flat that doesn't have flowers, bows, sparkles, thick fugly straps, long exaggerated toes or some other god awful eyesore. Heels on the other hand have a lovely shape, come with thin straps, tend not to go to embellishments like bows etc as the shoe itself is lovely. If I could get flats with the uppers of my heels, I'd be very happy. Unfortunately they don't exist.

See this fascinates me because I've always thought that heels are ugly - especially delicate 'pretty' ones which look ok until they're strapped to a foot. I geniunely think feet look weird in heels and it's always baffled me a bit. Flats look a lot better to my eye.

(I am aware that I'm a tiny minority here. I'm also short so there are times when liking heels would have made my life a lot easier!)

k1233 I totally agree! Plus I have yet to find a pair of flats that are flattering or compliment a dressier outfit? For example, what type of flat shoe would you wear with something like this (my chosen dress for a party later this month). I plan to wear heels with proper straps not anything like the ones in the pic but I can't imagine wearing this dress with flats?

@timeisnotaline

I haven’t tried this and have always meant to; my cousins used to buy stilettos and get the cobbler to chop an inch off the heel, to make them more comfortable while still getting their party shoes. This is starting with 4 inch heels though.

How does that work though? The angle and shape of the shoe would be all wrong and surely it would be impossible to walk in if an inch had been taken off

Ive also read shoes must be comfortable from the minute you try them on, no oh they will stretch/mold to my feet.

@Barney60 I had written a post a few days ago saying that, then deleted it. Yes, if you are buying a heel, if you can't walk out of the shop in it and keep shopping, it is not the shoe for you IME. Some heels are better balanced (which makes them really comfy) than others. Stockings also make the world of difference to the comfort of your feet.

@SorrelForbes, exactly. Most flats with that dress would ruin it and finding the pair that didn't is like finding the one ring - a long, time consuming trek with low chance of success.

I've solved the issue. Bought a pair of DM's.

@Leah2005

I've solved the issue. Bought a pair of DM's.

@Leah2005 best idea 😂

I'm out on Friday night, plan on wearing a hippy/boho kind of dress with my DM's. Actually looks way better than heels anyway!

Ibuprofen gel and good quality heels (break them in first) will help a lot. There will always be a certain degree of discomfort, you’ll just have to find a way of reducing it as much as you can and other than that, grin and bear it. That’s the price of wearing heels! 😅