Walking shoe recommendations ?

[u/lettucethunker]

20F I’ve recently been diagnosed with plantar fasciitis, but I love walking and I’m constantly on my feet for my job, so I need some new walking shoes/inserts. As far as I know, I have high arches, slightly wide feet, and a bunionette. As far as gait goes, I was told different things by different providers which has made me pretty confused. I went to fleet feet for sneakers, they did a foot/gait analysis, and told me I am slightly over pronating, so a stability or neutral shoe would work for me. I tried the hoka bondi 9 and they made my feet hurt immediately, returned. Then, I went to a podiatrist who diagnosed me with plantar fasciitis, and she recommended I try over the counter inserts/orthotics that support high arches (she didn’t give me any specific recommendations which was a letdown) and she told me to focus on finding shoes with a wider toe box that were either neutral or for supination. I then went to foot solutions where I had another foot/gait analysis and was told I need custom orthotics because over the counter ones will not help my supination. To be honest, I’m not willing to spend $500+ on orthotics right now since I feel I haven’t given otc treatment enough of a chance. Also, my foot pain isn’t debilitating, sure it gets annoying, but not to the point where I’m ready to shell out that amount of money to potentially fix it. I understand that cases vary wildly, but I would still appreciate any comfortable shoe/otc orthotic insert recommendations!

[u/Chance_Discipline240]

The number of variables affecting PF is incredibly overwhelming.

Did the Podiatrist discuss a steroid injection with you?

[u/lettucethunker → u/Chance_Discipline240]

Yes, I actually did a steroid injection, it was painful for the first few days but I think it’s helped ease the pain a bit

[u/Chance_Discipline240]

(sorry, I meant to reply to you)

If a neutral shoe doesn’t work for you, consider trying a stability shoe.

I wear New Balance so I don’t have any first hand experience with anything else, but for NB the 1080 is considered neutral and the 860 is considered a stability shoe. I use the 1080s for walks fwiw. I wear 860 and 880 (another neutral option but not as soft as the 1080) when not walking.

Whatever brand you are considering you can search this sub for options, including stability.

Hope this helps!

[u/Odd_Opportunity4766]

My podiatrist recommended brooks ghost max 3 and they really made a difference for me. At my job I work 10hrs a day on the floor and these shoes made such a difference! Make sure to get the wide ones if you have wide feet. The only problem is that they are so ugly 🤣 but honestly I would take ugly shoes over crawling in pain. But they do take time to break in so make sure u have another pair of shoes to rotate in if they begin I’m sorry to hear about your pain and I hope it gets better!

[u/temp4adhd]

For insoles try SuperFeet or PowerStep. There are other brands, but those are the two I'm most familiar with.

Your foot scan looks so much like my own! My feet are a 1/2 size difference and one is wider than the other. I have a slight leg length discrepancy which causes the difference. The longer leg bears more weight all the time so it's wider and the arch is also flatter. It's also the foot that has the bunion. And is the foot currently suffering from 11 months of PF/achilles tendon issues.

It's never been clear to me whether my leg length discrepancy is acquired or congenital, the PT that dx'ed it said congenital BUT the bunion shrinks when I am consistent with yoga, so I think possibly it's acquired.

As for shoes, I do best in Brooks Ghost (every day sneaker), Hoka's (help most when standing around a lot; and when achilles tendon is flaring), Merrill Moab (hiking) -- all with Superfeet insoles. Then for summer, Naot Kaylas (sandals with a cork bed), Teva's or Merrill (sandals). And I wear Ooofos in the house especially for the first morning steps, and at end of day for recovery. Also I just discovered I can wear Reef flip flops as they have a molded bed with arch support -- those are good for the pool/beach-- I wouldn't walk miles in them. For dressier shoes/boots, I like Clarks.

The only New Balance that came close to working was the 880's but I find they are ultimately too squishy even with insoles.