Orthotics and Plantar Facitis

My husband had orthotics for years. Now he goes to toe Good Feet store and he says they work just as well. And cost a LOT less.

I thought I wore "good shoes" too back when I had plantar facitis. They WERE good shoes, but not good for THIS. I had two people tell me that I needed to wear hard-soled shoes, and finally decided to listen. Recommended were Munros and Paul Green. I went to Nordstrom where they carried both and I bought them.

It fixed my feet like nothing else would, including shots, inserts, exercise, and a boot worn to bed (which ended up hurting my hip.) After a year and a half of this misery, these shoes made all the difference.

When my Munros wore out, I went to buy another pair but didn't see anything I liked. The Nordstrom guy recommended that I try Naots and I did. Since then, I've bought several other pairs of Naots, including 2 more of the exact same shoe because I like it and it fits my feet so well and makes them feel good. This is what has cured my plantar facitis.

About the cortisone shots - I couldn't walk for at least one day after the shots, and they'd last between 3 weeks and a month, but then the pain was back with a vengence. And yeah, it hurts like the dickens. But you can't keep getting these shots - I understand if you have somewhere you have to go or something you have to do in order to "get you through" but it's not a permanent solution. I did continue to do stretches in the morning for a long time just to make sure - as soon as your feet hit the floor (before going to the bathroom) hold your hands on the bed or the wall and stretch each foot with a small and gentle lunge.

But it's the shoes that make all the difference.

Full disclosure, I don't have plantar faciitis, but I do have foot problems/tendonitis. My coworker, who has PF, recommended Orthaheel shoes (she has the custom inserts, boots, does stretches) and they are like a gift from God. They are the best shoes you will ever wear. I was also told by my podiatrist to NEVER go barefoot, even at home. So I got Orthaheel shoes, slippers, and flip flops and the inserts and no matter what, even walking around my house, I wear them. And my feet feel great. I agree, don't let it go. Just wear the REALLY good shoes. Danskos have also been good for me, but nothing beats Orthaheel for PF and other issues related to your arches.

I am sorry to hear this. I have had a nasty case of plantar fasciitis for four months now. I posted about this back in July if you want to try to find those responses. I have been meaning to call my insurance company and call my podiatrist back and I think I am going to try the custom orthotics, depending on the amount of coverage provided by my insurance. I've had several people tell me the custom ones worked for them. I had a pair from a company similar to the Good Feet company after some routine tendonitis in the other foot a few months before my plantar fasciitis. (The other foot recovered.) They did NOT prevent the plantar fasciitis. To be completely honest, I did not wear them all of the time. I primarily wore them for exercising and walking the dogs, but I still ended up with this problem. I don't wear flip flops either and never go barefoot.

I did get the cortisone shot and won't try it again. It felt great while the anesthetic was in effect! But for about a day afterwards after the numbing wore off I could barely walk and was even more uncomfortable than usual. The shot helped a little for a few weeks, but now I am back to where I started.

Here is what I have done/tried: therapeutic taping, icing and stretches, temporary orthotics, one cortisone shot and LOTS of new shoes. My new shoes: professionally fitted running shoes, Birkenstocks, Haflinger house shoes and a pair of thick, hard-soled clogs, the name of which escapes me right now. I used to wear Crocs as house shoes. They didn't help. Out of all of the new shoes the Haflinger house shoes (very expensive) are the most comfortable. I've heard about wearing a special boot at night, but my podiatrist hasn't mentioned that.

When my dad was getting custom-fitted for a boot for a totally different condition I talked briefly to his provider about orthotics. He had nothing but horrible, horrible things to say about the Good Feet orthotics and their business practices. Of course, he's biased because he's in the custom orthotics business, but I think he actually told me to look them up in the Better Business Bureau and he gave me some specific examples of their businesses practices he's seen. I haven't followed up on that. I would be going through my podiatrist for custom orthotics so I did not/will not have a patient or client relationship with my dad's provider, but I found his comments interesting.

Please PM me if you find something that works or if you come to a conclusion about what to do. I will also try to follow this post. I am really miserable with my PF and very frustrated. Good luck.

ETA: I just saw my podiatrist for the 3rd time this morning. He referred me to physical therapy, which I start next week. He said the Good Feet orthotics are a "good compromise" for people like me whose insurance companies don't cover custom orthotics (I was very disappointed and frustrated by that). However, he doesn't like the Good Feet company and its business practices. He says they try to sell people a variety of different inserts for different shoes and different purposes, which isn't necessary. They end up spending as much as it would've cost in the first place to get the customs. He also said that there is "no magic shoe" for people with PF and that companies prey on people with PF because they know they are desperate. He says watch out for marketing tactics that claim a particular shoe will cure PF. Not true he says. No shoe will do that. However, he says many of his patients really like the Haflinger house shoe. I got mine about a month ago and they are the most comfortable shoe I own. They are designed to be worn only indoors though. Good luck!

Crocs do an Rx shoe, specially for plantar fasciitis. They are wonderful

My H wore custom orthotics for 12 years or so. What an expensive pain in the butt... They wore down at least every year which meant sending them back and waiting weeks on their return. Then sometimes they made things worse, back for more adjustment.

He went to a new podiatrist and got $35 PowerSteps and whala, problem solved!

The right insert, priceless.

I was lucky that mine was resolved with a new pair of running shoes. I had been wearing Asics, but not he right size or style. I went to a specialty running store (Marathon Sports) and had them help me choose a shoe. I went with a high-support shoe for over-pronators (Asics Evolution) and went half a size up from my dress shoes. My intent was to replace the insert with either Superfeet or custom orthotics. To my shock, I didn't need either. The correct running shoe was enough to cure my PF to a degree that it carried over to my dress and casual shoes as well.

If there's not a huge price difference between the Good Feet orthotics or the custom, I would go with custom. If there's a big difference, try the Good Feet first and see if that helps. I was sure I was going to need something more and was surprised when I didn't so the non-custom ones may surprise you.

went thru the same nitemare both feet-i at one point wore a boot for 8 months,a cast for a week(cut it off myself) cortisone shots,pair of 200.00 dollar shoes that was pointless..what finally worked was i got online-found this "heel seats" 35.00 dollars their made of rubber like substance-goes rite in the heel of your shoe-came in 2 days-did the trick-their washable-ive had my same set for 6 yrs now.i work on my feet-best investment i ever made.good luck

The key for me is the arch support. There's an old style show store in my town that does custom inserts that are done the same day and the cost is $100. I only use them in my athletic shoes. You may want to look around for somewhere to get the inserts done.
I do my stretches several times every day. Every time I think my feet, I stretch. I rarely have a flare up. If I do, its usually because I've slacked off on my stretching. I start stretching more and it goes away.

Wearing Birkenstock clogs and sandals works for me.

PF really is...well.... A PAIN.
Wearing good shoes with OTC arch supports was all I needed.
Another thing that really helped me was stretching my foot and rollingnit on a tennis ball BEFORE you get out of bed.
Good luck. It's no fun. :(

I have been dealing with plantar facitis for a few months now. I did get custom orthotics from my foot doctor but honestly I only wear them in my tennis shoes. I had the boot things to wear at night and would do stretches. nothing really helped, I always wear shoes - lots of crocs and my feet are a little better lately but I haven't done anything special.
I did have a shot in my heel and it HURT, heels still hurt for a day or two and then it was better for a couple of weeks. the short time of relief was not worth it for me.
good luck!

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the SuperFeet Green inserts. I was diagnosed with PF last month and my doctor said don't waste money on expensive Good Feet products, just get the SF ones from the Kaiser pharmacy. They were around $30. I've seen them sold online. My doctor also has PF and said these helped his feet a lot. So far, they've made my shoes a lot more comfortable.

Also, I second the Orthaheel shoes recommendation. I have two pairs now and they're great. They're designed for PF. They feel strange at first, but they make a big difference.

I have also found a workout DVD that for whatever reason is eliminating my foot pain (and it was so severe I often walked tip-toes on my sore foot). I've re-aggravated my PF taking my son on a school field trip and decided to do the DVD again to see if it made a difference. Bam ... pain was gone again! It's the Bob Harper Yoga for Weight Loss DVD. I'm about to write an Amazon review about it because it's been amazing. There is some sort of stretch in there that benefits PF; I haven't figure out which one yet or I'd just do that magic stretch over and over.

I had/have plantar facitis. I have a really high arch & have worn orthotics fir years. I would recommend getting them
Custom. Maybe even from a podiatrist. That's where mine came from.
Don't let this go. I did. I waited for a year to see a doctor & it was too late. I did cortisone injections. Which only worked for 3 wks for me. But my Stepmom gets them & they last for a year for her.
I ended up having surgery 2 years ago...the pain was so bad. The surgery recovery is brutal. So do what you can to avoid that.

I would NOT do the cortisone... that can cause damage later.

I have custom orthotics I wore about 2 years. They are pricey, about $600 and when you buy shoes, you have to make sure you can remove the shoe insert so you can put your orthotic in the shoe. After a while, I found that to be a pain in the rear.

I am still in recovery mode from a subchondral lesion on my ankle and the first thing the Dr asked "Have you allowed anyone to inject cortisone shots", Of course, I had not. I ended up with a procedure in trials now that a lot of athletes do to speed up recovery and it is working. It is platelet Rich Plasma. They took my blood, spun it very fast to separate blood cells, then added a growth hormone and injected it into the damaged ankle. Basically, it shocks the area and attracts stem cells to come and regenerate tissue. I had to be still for 5 days (no movement) and I've worn a brace day and night since the procedure on 8/6. My hard brace for nighttime has an attachment that my Dr. told me not to use because that attachment was for people with your condition. It keeps your ankle straight at night.

I hope you find something that does help you. Having feet that hurt is no fun.