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Best shoe for Planter Fasciitis

lt56ny

Veteran Member
Time of past OR future Camino
2023 Vasco, Meseta, Portugues Coastal
I came across this story about the best shoes to wear for people who suffer from this. I don't. Just posting it as a service. It came up on my News app called Flipboard. I had never heard of this website so I went to MediaBias Fact Check. An excellent site that tries to be as objective as possible rating the truthfulness, reliability, manipulation etc etc of hundreds of media outlets. This website LiveStrong.com is a for profit website that is in partnership with the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Media Bias gives this website mixed reviews but when it comes to things like this I believe that they print accurate information etc.
Here is the MediaBoas fact check on this site:


Here is the article:

The reason I added the caveat is that walking with foot issues is serious and I would not want to post something that could end up hurting a fellow pilgrim.

So you guys can discuss this, decide if it is good advice and if the moderators think it should be deleted then delete it.

Buen Camino all.
 
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€46,-
I have four women in my life who struggle ocassionally with plantar fasciitis and they all think wearing Oofa's really has helped.
 
I developed a debilitating plantar fasciitis on my Camino de Norte while wearing Solomon lightweight trail runners.....it rained almost 80% of the time and the shoe lost form. I switched to Hoka Arahe first and my PF improved. I am now into my 3rd Hoka Bondi (now version 7). A word of caution, the 7 vs 6 fits much wider in the toe box. I ordered wide but returned it as my forefoot had too much lateral movement. These with good hiking pole technique are perfect.
 
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I use Superfeet footbeds in Altra trail shoes and Chaco sandals. I switch back and forth depending upon the trail surface. Walking 30 to 40 days in a row results in various aches and pains and I also have to carry K-Tape, Volteren, and Naproxen. The cafe con leche and vino tinto also motivates you forward
 
Best treat Plantar Fasciitis with a huge amount of respect and attention. Seek qualified advice from a qualified podiatrist, or take advice on who to see from your own doctor. Feet, like minds, are pretty individual to you. Your gait, weight, balance etc. are all different from one person to the next, going for mass produced footwear may help, but it may harm. Get the best advice you can get. I was given exercises and advised on what suited my foot. I don't know if I'm cured but that disabling feeling of a hot knife sliding under my foot has gone. I now throw away the manufacturers insoles and have heat moulded superfeet insoles. I always carry a couple of pairs so that I can swap them over regularly or if my feet get wet.
 
"Best treat Plantar Fasciitis with a huge amount of respect and attention" says Jimmy Smith. I could not agree with him more. Get to a physiotherapist who specialise in feet get her/him to take a mold of your feet and have strong insoles made for you. and wear them every day of your life. I have several pair because I think that moving them from one shoe to another does not help. They are very expensive, but I have a life. Also you need to do exercises to lengthen your calf muscle. When the calf muscle is tight it puts extra stress on the sole of the foot and this is what causes the pain. Pain like a sharp pointed knife being stuck up your heel.
 
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
I use Superfeet footbeds in Altra trail shoes and Chaco sandals. I switch back and forth depending upon the trail surface. Walking 30 to 40 days in a row results in various aches and pains and I also have to carry K-Tape, Volteren, and Naproxen. The cafe con leche and vino tinto also motivates you forward
I use mostly Chacos, with Altra trail shoes as back up. Do you glue em down on the Chacos?
 
I think custom inlay soles is first priority .....then long distance running shoes with huge cushioning ability .....Altra , Hoka , ASICS , NewBalance ....I always bring two alternating brands for break up of monotonous and repetitive pattern of long walking days..different tech gives different support....🙏🏼
 
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
I was a letter carrier for 32 years and got plantar fasciitis about 22 years into my career. I'm retired now. The best thing you can do is fix it. And you can. I did exercises and slept with a stiff boot which keeps your foot at an angle so that when you get out of bed you're not crawling in pain. After 3 to 6 months, it went away. There's ways to fix it. I've done two caminos, one in 2017 from SJPP to Santiago and Finistre and Muxia, over 600 miles and in 2019 from LPEV to Santiago, over 1000 miles. The best exercise for me was standing on the tips of your feet and lowering your heels down from the a stair. It stretches the whole connection of the back of your leg to your heel muscles. Ask your foot doctor.
 
I was a letter carrier for 32 years and got plantar fasciitis about 22 years into my career. I'm retired now. The best thing you can do is fix it. And you can. I did exercises and slept with a stiff boot which keeps your foot at an angle so that when you get out of bed you're not crawling in pain. After 3 to 6 months, it went away. There's ways to fix it. I've done two caminos, one in 2017 from SJPP to Santiago and Finistre and Muxia, over 600 miles and in 2019 from LPEV to Santiago, over 1000 miles. The best exercise for me was standing on the tips of your feet and lowering your heels down from the a stair. It stretches the whole connection of the back of your leg to your heel muscles. Ask your foot doctor.
 
By the way, I wore ultra Lone Peak 3.5 and Hokas for the second camino, and a combination of Columbia hiking shoes and Brooks. First foot issues I recommend hocus because they're so comfortable and cushioned and or lone peaks because the toe box is really big. I also had Morton's neuroma and pretty much got rid of that too. There were days that were excruciating when I delivered mail. And I've never had blisters on either Camino.
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
I have had Plantar twice. On my first Camino it appeared about three quarters through and fixed itself up very quickly after I finished with no treatment.

The second time it developed towards the end and persisted when I got home. My GP gave me exercises and it disappeared fairly quickly.

Neither episode was debilitating but both were very uncomfortable.

I have no idea whether footwear makes much difference. I wore boots of different manufacture on the two occasions.
 
I was given the tennis ball treatment (rolling the tennis ball under the foot arch), which morphed into a golf ball and then a tin of beans, also the step treatment stretch exercise as described by Allyson. I also had xrays to see if there were other problems, which luckily there weren't. But the physios knew their jobs and got me through it. Currently I use North face boots and Berghaus trail runners, when walking and have Dr. Martens shoes for the majority of the time when not out and about. I never wear slippers and avoid walking with bare feet. I have heat moulded superfeet insoles in all my footwear and carry spares when hiking.
 
I was a letter carrier for 32 years and got plantar fasciitis about 22 years into my career. I'm retired now. The best thing you can do is fix it. And you can. I did exercises and slept with a stiff boot which keeps your foot at an angle so that when you get out of bed you're not crawling in pain. After 3 to 6 months, it went away. There's ways to fix it. I've done two caminos, one in 2017 from SJPP to Santiago and Finistre and Muxia, over 600 miles and in 2019 from LPEV to Santiago, over 1000 miles. The best exercise for me was standing on the tips of your feet and lowering your heels down from the a stair. It stretches the whole connection of the back of your leg to your heel muscles. Ask your foot doctor.
I agree with the stretches. Those stair ones are the best. But I also use the custom inserts and wear Chacos at other times. Sometimes a twitch comes back and I get more aggressive with my exercises again.
 
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
I use mostly Chacos, with Altra trail shoes as back up. Do you glue em down on the Chacos?
Oh sorry, my description of footwear use was ambiguous. I wear Altras with Superfeet insoles. I wear Chaos sandals without SF insoles.

The Chacos are my primary footwear on the Camino. I wear them over 90% of the time and I wear them with socks. The Altras are only worn when it is cold. I only wear socks with sandals on the Camino trail.
 
By the way, I wore ultra Lone Peak 3.5 and Hokas for the second camino, and a combination of Columbia hiking shoes and Brooks. First foot issues I recommend hocus because they're so comfortable and cushioned and or lone peaks because the toe box is really big. I also had Morton's neuroma and pretty much got rid of that too. There were days that were excruciating when I delivered mail. And I've never had blisters on either Camino.
Hokas are my preferred after a plantar fasciitis on El Norte that persisted for months.
 
Hokas are my preferred after a plantar fasciitis on El Norte that persisted for months.
I love Hoka's, although mine were an older "One One" model. I always say it is like walking on marshmellows although I'm not sure if the new models have the same wonderful, cushy feel.
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
I love Hoka's, although mine were an older "One One" model. I always say it is like walking on marshmellows although I'm not sure if the new models have the same wonderful, cushy feel.
I loved my Hoka Bondi 6, now only version 7 sold. Even more cushion still very stable but they look huge . Still foot health overrides fashion.
 

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