Sandals and Plantar Fasciitis

I've had Plantar Fasciitis since about the time I turned 40, but it hasn't been too bad: I'd go weeks at a time without any trouble, and when I did have a flare-up it was more inconvenient than painful.

That's changed lately. Suddenly. I'm fine when I'm home in the summer, but now that school's started, standing up 7 hours a day on a tile floor is killing me. By the end of the day, I am noticeably limping out to the parking lot, and at home I'm genuinely in real pain for the rest of the day. This is just not acceptable.

My footwear makes a HUGE difference. I'm okay with the following:

- tennis shoes with built-in arch support

- dressy loafer type shoes or boat shoes with an arch support insert

- a kitten heel with an arch support insert

- big, clunky sandals with arch support and a foot bed that cradles my foot

What I'm wondering about:

For vacations or future cruises, what type of sandals can I wear? I won't be standing up in the same way I do in my classroom (and I do think that tile is part of the issue -- I'm thinking of buying myself a gel mat), but I will walk more than I do during a typical day at home.

I'm having good luck wearing most of my "closed" shoes with the help of an arch support insert that I bought at Target. But I can't put those into sandals. As I said above, I have one pair of big, clunky sandals that are GREAT as far as comfort, but I do not consider them attractive. In fact, I think they ruin a shorts outfit.

I've seen websites that sell sandals meant for Plantar Fasciitis -- and their shoes look good, but they cost $90-130 per pair! If that's what it costs, then I'll pay, but I sure would like to hear some personal experiences before I spend that much.

Any experience is welcome!

You wear what suits YOU! You will need arch support....and I agree...most that have that look awful! I have PF, too,.,..but I try to keep to shoes that support my tootsies...unless I want to look good...then I wear what LOOKS good! Oh, well! An anti-inflammatory works wonders!

I have had plantar fasciitis for several years. After 5+ years of increasing pain, I finally had surgery. This was the answer for me and I wish I had done it sooner. This was only done after 4 different podiatrists and therapy for the 5 years. A foot specialist who does a lot of plantar fasciitis is recommended. I limped for so long I injured my back and knee. I think my problem began after standing for long periods on concrete floors, too.

After my surgery, I began to wear Dansco brand shoes and sandals. I even kept up with my walking program. I found with the surgery, good arch support shoes with real stability I am finally cured. I also wear wedge type shoes and sandals only. Just a little wedge raises my foot and takes some strain off the tendon.

Good luck. I agree the cost of the type of shoes I need is a problem. I stick with white and black for general wear and "misbehave" with cute evening shoes when I'm only going out to dinner, in which case I walk less than a block.

On cruises, I get by with a black sandal that works for me for evening. Mine is a shiny patent that looks dressy.

Margee

My good friend says that Chaco sandals fixed her plantar fasciitis. She has about 8 pairs and wears them in all kinds of weather because they work.

They are expensive but they are very well made. They last. Talk to anyone that wears them and you will find a devoted following.

I wear orthaheel flip flops. They have a built in arch so I don't have pain when I wear them. They are spendy - about $75 a pair but they last forever. I highly recommend them for summer climate cruises

I agree that Orthaheel by Vionex work very well. They are my summer flip flops. They have very good arch support and maintain a correct foot position. I have black and white. Cute, too.

Margee

I either wear a sandal with arch support or I use instant arch supports. They are small stick on supports. I buy mine from Footsmart. I use double sided tape for clothes to hold them in place, that way I use 1 pair for multiple sandals.

I don't have pf, but I do have issues with my toes that shortens the tendons in my feet so I have to look for a lot of the things that you do (I cannot wear anything without good arch support for example.) I have to have something that is sturdy (so most flip flops don't work for me) but as someone who is only 28, I find a lot of the orthopedic stuff absolutely ugly. Would you be able to give an example of what you have that you find unattractive? It would give me an idea of what you don't want! lol Is it just that you find them clunky? Is it a sport type sandal? Or do you just want something more dressy or fashion forward?

I do have to be honest - most of the time I do spend $75-150. In my experience, good arch support means a quality shoe and they tend to not come cheap.

Some of my go to brands are clarks, merrell, and orthaheel and occasionally Earth shoes. I used to buy orthaheel a lot but I have found them to be less comfortable for some reason lately. My last pair of flip flops only lasted a season and some of their more study pairs don't have a loop closure for the velcro and I find that annoying. If you want budget orthaheel I recommend, QVC. I believe they have some QVC only styles and they are priced lower. 6pm also has some good deals at times too. In the past I have also worn Earth shoes but they seem to be moving away from stylish orthopedic to just fashion. They used to be my go to brand for flip flops.

Clarks will give you some more attractive styles, sometimes Merrell as well. They tend of have more arch support than some other brands, but it can vary from style to style.

Another vote for Chacos. I've had 13 foot surgeries & these are the best. Specially made for PF & foot issues. I've had a pair for over 5 years & wear them constantly, they still look great. They aren't cheap, $100-120, but they last & work.

If you don't want to spend that to wear just on the cruise get a pair of Oofos. They're about $40 & feel like you have marshmallows on your feet. Good luck

Orthoheel or Birkenstock. Podiatrist suggested Birkenstocks and they made amazing difference. Hard plastic type Arch supports made by podiatrist in all other shoes.

I worked retail and the first couple of weeks I walked out of the store in extreme pain, as you described. What I did to help was change my shoes at lunch time. It helped to get through the day.

I am retired now and during the summer have clarks and aersole sandals very comfortable.

Not sure what I will wear in the fall.

Good luck and I hope you find a solution. A good podiatrist will help.

Wow, such good information ...

No, I don't have a podiatrist. I've been to my general physician -- at first I didn't want to believe her diagnosis. I told her I was SURE something pea-sized was inside my heel, and I wanted her to cut it out. I had a hard time believing that muscles could "bunch up" and feel like that. Since school started, I have taken a distinct downturn, and I think it's time to go to a specialist.

I've read a good bit online, and if I can manage this without surgery, I'm going to do it. I read that only 3/4 of all patients who have the surgery are satisfied with it, and I know someone personally who's in the "it didn't do a thing for me" category. MargeCruiser, I'm glad you're in the 75% who are satisfied, and if I can't manage it with exercises and footwear, I'll definitely follow your lead -- but I feel it's right to give it "the old college try" first.

About your surgery: Did this completely take away the problem? Is it possible to "work up to it" again? How long was your recovery? What do you wish you'd known beforehand?

I'll definitely look into the several name brands mentioned here. As I said, I don't mind spending on shoes that'll work, but with all the options, it's hard to know what's good for this condition. I don't want to just cast about hoping to land on the right thing that'll help me; thus, wear what works for YOU isn't particularly helpful -- not while I'm trying to figure out what will work for this condition.

For the record, I have no problem walking in comfortable shoes -- I walk the dog for at least two miles every evening. EXCEPT for those days when I wear the wrong shoes to school all day -- then I don't recover for the rest of the day.

The sandals that're working for me now are Sketchers -- I have these in brown: http://www.shoes.com/womens-skechers-reggae-rasta-black-suede-beige-p2_id111579?adtrack=gpa&term=Women%2527s+Skechers+Reggae+%252D+Rasta&offer=&device=c&network=g&matchtype=&mkwid=&creative=70286596153

It was total luck that they turned out to be "right", and I'm trying to analyze WHY they work. I know that arch support is a part of it. What I dislike about the look is that they're just clunky looking -- they're a bit like Birkenstocks. If they were his size, I could imagine my husband wearing these sandals. Nothing about them is feminine or dainty. I'm not even sure why I bought these shoes; they're so "not me". They're okay with jeans, but with shorts ... not so much.

LuvsCruising, are you saying that simply changing from one shoe to another mid-day -- that is, altering your shoe style mid-day -- helped? Odd. I wouldn't have thought of that, but it certainly is a simple solution.

I do not know about stick-on arch supports. Don't they "show" in a sandal?

Thanks, all, and I'm interested to hear other thoughts as well.

Okay, I've been investigating online:

Dansco -- I'm not so thrilled with these. As long as I use an insert with some good arch support, I'm doing okay with my slip-on shoes for school. They do look comfortable though, and I do think that bit of a heel would be better than the flats to which I gravitate. However, I'm fairly sure they sell these at Scrubs Plus at the mall, so I know where I can try on a pair.

Orthoheel -- Now this looks promising. The foot bed looks much like the pair of sandals that're working for me now, but the upper is less "mountain man". Plus they're as low as $41 and come in many colors. That is more than I've been paying for flip-flops, but it's less than the other brands.

Chacos -- Oh, I do know these! My daughters attend what my SIL lovingly refers to as a "granola" college, where all the people are "crunchy". She means they're hippy-ish. Yeah, the kids wear these shoes all the time. With pretty colored uppers, they are much better than the brown Sketchers I'm wearing now. Plus, this reminds me that I have two pairs of expensive Teva river shoes that I rarely wear -- not that I can wear them to work, but I do already own them, and I am sure they have some good arch support. Now, where are they?

Merrill -- I have a pair of hiking boots, and I like them, but I'm not sure I love the look of their sandals. They seem to lean toward chunky more than the other brands.

I feel like I'm making progress.

My DD had PF surgery, she is s competitive marathon runner & it was surgery or stop running. She has had zero problems since the PF surgery. Get a good podiatrist that has done PF surgery before & get a consult

I think I can see where you are coming from with those. I think they are kinda of cute but they are way down there on the casual scale. Clarks may be your best bet if you want fashion sandals or orthaheel for flip flops. Sadly I have found that some of the best supportive sandals are sport styles because they are made for that kind of wear. Cute ones are out there but harder to find and not cheap.

You mention that those sandals work and so do some of your other shoes. Could be that they are all supportive and provide cushioning? Are they stable on your foot (ie, do you have to work to keep your foot in them?) It looks like that particular pair could be doing all of those things. Your milage may vary, but I have realized over time that the less I make my feet have to work for the shoes the better I feel. This is why my podiatrist in the past tried to tell me I only took part of it to heart. When I gave up the flip flops like they told me to (unless they fit really really well and then only for small periods) my feet felt a million times better.

If you are looking now, you should be able to get some good deals since it is the end of the season. You might have some great options locally as well, just look for something with good built in arch support. Sometimes it hard to find but I can get lucky sometimes. You might also have some luck adding a 3/4 length insole into an existing pair. I have put in some thin velcro in a lot of my Mom's sandals for her PF. It works for her, and unless the inside of the shoes is very flat its usually not noticeable at all unless you are looking for it.

Meant to add: these are my go to sandals for work and I've worn them all over on vacation. I buy some version of these version of these almost every year. Definitely not "mountian man!"

Changing your shoes mid-day helps to change the pressure points. My son was the one who told me to try it. He worked as a cook for awhile at the Hyatt and he said that worked for him. Also, it is a good idea not to wear the same shoes every day. It may not work for you but it helped with that pain at the end of the day. It was an inconvenience at first to change but I did notice a difference and could walk to the parking lot and not be in tears.

As another aside, DH was diagnosed with PF and his doctor at the time advised him to wear Rockports. It took a while but it definitely helped and he doesn't wear anything but Rockports. I don't know if that is an option for you. Not sure they make sandals.

I am wondering if you actually have a heel spur or bone spur rather than PF.

When I had a bout of PF several years ago, I was fine while standing and walking. It became noticeable when I had been sitting for a while and then got up, or when I woke up in the morning and put my feet on the floor to get up -- total agony.

Now I'm dealing with a heel spur; that pain occurs while I'm standing and walking, and not so much when I get up from having been seated for a while.

You might need a slightly different solution depending on what you actually have, so a visit to a podiatrist might be helpful to confirm your GP's diagnosis.

Wearing Vionics or a brand called Sole does help with my spur.

My plantar fasciitis surgery was very easy, it was actually day surgery. Only a couple of stitches since it's really micro surgery. The recovery was very fast for the surgery site, and the tendons took several weeks. After about 6 months, I was completely pain free. By the way I'm in my middle 70s. My surgeon is a foot and ankle specialist. As I said, I saw 4 different specialists in 2 different states before the surgery. Years of stretching exercises, lots of anti inflammatory medicine, cortisone shots,etc. all the doctors were cautious and did not recommend surgery until all other options had been tried. It took at least 5 years to go through all the less invasive treatments, but to no avail. I finally had to say enough, let's go for surgery. By the time I had the surgery on my foot, I had injured my back and hip from limping. I feel it took too long to convince a specialist to go for surgery.

By the way, we took 2 Mediterranean cruises with extensive walking on tours during this time. I am pain free now. Yippee!

Margee

Mrs. Pete...I dealt with foot pain for a long while. It took a bit for me to localize where the pain was and for a long time I thought that I had PF...through some of my own research and more trials, I discovered that I had a severely activated trigger point in my Soleus (deep calf) muscle.

This has a decent explanation:

http://www.triggerpointtherapist.com/blog/soleus-pain/soleus-trigger-points-heel-pain/

And I would call your attention to the bottom where it gives other muscle's activated trigger points that can be referred into the heel.

Usually a hand held foam roller and other self massage tools, I was able to finally work out that trigger point and stop the heel pain. Now I make sure to the types of calf stretches that actually stretch that muscle (differs from what we typically think of a as a calf stretch with the foot extremely flexed...you have to ALSO bend the knee and flex the foot to get at this particular muscle).

Anyway...good shoes also usually helped my pain...poor shoes and extended times on my feet exacerbated the heel pain.

If you are a researcher, I would look into trigger points and referred pain, since you haven't seen a specialist...see if there are some other contributing factors to your heel pain.

I have PF and after seeing a podiatrist and getting physical therapy for it, it is mostly gone.

I have custom orthotics for my closed toe shoes but obviously can't wear those in sandals so I swear by the Vionic by Orthaheel brand (and even have some of their closed toe styles for winter) and also FitFlops.

I don't think the FitFlops do anythin for my rear end like they claim but they do have the arch support and footbed I need for my PF.

Wow, such good information ...

 

 

I do not know about stick-on arch supports. Don't they "show" in a sandal?

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Not really, they fit on the "inside" side of the footbed against the strap on the sandal. Very little if any of it shows when they are on your foot. I have them in tan, black and clear so they blend with most everything I own.

I'm glad to hear that a marathon runner found relief through surgery! I'm also convinced that I need to start seeing a podiatrist since it seems that IF I go the surgery route, no doctor seems to want to do it right away.

I'm not in official physical therapy, but my GP did give me some exercises, which had been working well -- as I said, until school started this fall, and things seem to have changed quickly.

I don't know about this being anything other than plantar fasciitis. My GP says PF, and everything I read online makes me say, "Yes, that's it". However, I am completely sold on the idea that I need to go to a podiatrist, and I will get his or her professional opinion -- if my GP was wrong, I'm sure I'll find out soon.

I read online that heel spurs and PF can go together.

Yes, I have a foot roller -- mine came from Amazon and looks like a slightly fancy little rolling pin, and I love it. I put it on the floor, stand with one hand on the sofa to stabilize myself and roll my foot over it. That's another reason I don't think it could be a heel spur -- if something were actually "in there", I don't think I'd like massaging it with this foot roller.

I'm definitely going to look into the stick-on inserts.

Again, thanks for the help, y'all. You've given me a good start on some sandals that'll give me the support I need, and I like the idea of looking for them now at the end of the season. Unfortunately, I wear a 7, the most common size, and they're often sold out first; thus, I have to buy before shoes hit rock bottom.

 

 

I'm definitely going to look into the stick-on inserts.

 

Again, thanks for the help, y'all. You've given me a good start on some sandals that'll give me the support I need, and I like the idea of looking for them now at the end of the season. Unfortunately, I wear a 7, the most common size, and they're often sold out first; thus, I have to buy before shoes hit rock bottom.

I get my inserts through FootSmart. http://www.footsmart.com/P-Instant-Arches-Sandals-pr-10755.aspx

Love Fit Flops- sandals and closed toe. Also try an elastic arch support from a drug store. Amazing help and cheap to try!

Lots of exercises and deep tissue massage by a sports physiotherapist cured my PF. which was mostly due to fallen arches. My poor plantar was trying to compensate and became inflamed which caused the pain.

Pull back your toes to stretch the plantar before you get out of bed in the morning. Calf stretches on the edge of the stairs. Roll a golf ball under your foot, also roll a frozen bottle of water under your foot to help ease the pain.

I had weekly sessions with the physio and was advised to wear my trainers as much as possible.

Most of the pain eased within a month but I still do the exercises and now wear shoes which have arch support.

The most comfortable shoes I have, other than my trainers, are fitflops, although they are not dainty they do come in lots of different styles and colours.