MomofWildChild

I don't agree with a lot of the claims MBT makes, but the shoes are extremely comfortable. I wore them all the time when I was on crutches most of 2007. The shock absorption was great. They aren't going to help you lose weight of change your body. They are way too expensive, which is why I like the Sketcher's with similar technology.
The people in the Jeff's Lunchbreak critique probably would have gotten hurt wearing a pair of Nikes, too.

maineparent

I recently took delivery of a pair of the new Skechers Shape Ups.... a sandal type and I love them. I go for long walks with them on.... my girlfriend with PF recently tried mine and liked them also....but has some Keen's and thinks they might be better for now... I got mine thru Amazon and there was a special deal with $20 off.....so they cost around $80... they have tremendous cushion....and slip on and off easily....

I have Naot sandals and agree that they are wonderful too.... and am also a fan of Crocs.

You can always do the on-line thing, but you might want to see if there is a local, quality shoe store near you... where they might be willing to work with you on getting a good match? They might have trials available etc...

good luck....

emeraldkity4

I have done the same with old tennis balls (fill it with water and place in freezer over night).

what a clever idea- with a old dog- we have LOTS of tennis balls

lorelei2702

Superfeet makes inserts of varying profiles.....even a version for shoes with heels. The ones for ice skates work in all my day shoes and boots.

cbreeze

You can also try Dr. Scholl For Her gel inserts. My friend said the heel and arch inserts made a huge difference . I put arch gel inserts in all my ballet flats.

PackMom

OP here,Thank you all so much for all the ideas. I'll be busy looking shoe shopping online all afternoon. Isn't it amazing how many people have PF or something similiar. I had never even heard of it until my feet started hurting. Now I've found that my own brother and sister have had it as well as several of my friends.

S1 is a serious runner w/ flat feet. I'm going to send him some shoes inserts and beg him to start using them. Of course he is 22 and thinks nothing will ever happen to him. He is in the military so running is not optional, it's mandatory.

All advice is welcome..thanks.

emeraldkity4

I saw a place that carries MBT shoes in Seattle and apparently have a lot on stock- still they look kinda gimmicky- reminds me of Famolares.

I may go try some on though

pageturner

EK, they seem gimmicky, and I think the claim of "helping to tone and shape" is a bit much, but, as far as alleviating foot pain and PF, well, they just do it. I don't feel any (really- ANY) pain with these. I even bought them for my husband (the skeptic). He has since bought a second pair, and hates it when forgets and wears other shoes.

They're weird when you first try them on, because you can rock back and forth. After you get over that, they are great.

barrons

My wife got the heel shot and has had no pain for several months.

PackMom

EK, Famolares..the shoes with the wavy bottoms? I had some Famolares sandals in high sch. and loved them, wore them with everything and thought I was terribly cool.
I had forgotten all about them...a blast fr. the past,lol.

akck

Years ago, I had heel pain where I used to walk around on the balls of my feet to keep the pressure off the heels. I tried a pair of ASICS with gel soles and my heels still hurt, but felt comfortable. After about 3-4 weeks, the heel pain went away. I worn ASICS ever since. The nice thing was that after the heel pain went away, I'm able to wear other types of shoes without any pain. They have several styles so be certain to get the style that best fits your feet. RoadRunner Sports has a Shoe Dog system for finding shoes to fit your foot.

patsmom

Oh, wow, Famolares! What a blast from the past! I wore them in the 70s and really loved them.

Helenback

Ah, I've been fooling with this for a solid year.

I bought a boot thing to wear at night to keep the foot flexed--and this helps a lot. I iced and stretched and all that, and it did get better--but it didn't get so much better that I could forget about my sore foot.

I've been living in Birkenstocks and Merrill trail shoes. By the way, all the non-ugly Birks are now sold on QVC.com. I'll be getting some clogs for winter.

Anyway, I thought I could heal this myself after all the reading, but it just was not completely going away, so I finally went to a podiatrist.

He pads and tapes it weekly with ligament tape, and I have to keep it dry so I wear a cast protector by Curad when I shower. The weekly taping is to support the foot enough to let it heal--which it is. When it is finally calmed down enough to go without taping--probably a couple more weeks, then I'll get inserts made. I have a pair of happy feet, but they don't hit my arch in the right place in several pairs of my shoes so I've had mixed success with them.

If you have decent insurance then I suggest going to the podiatrist. I had been babying my foot all summer--icing, taking it easy after a day of activity, and for the first time in a year I am not in pain. I wish I wouldn't have waited so long!

dmd77

I read all this and then went and put on my new Yoga Toes, which is another "I swear by this" treatment for plantar fasciitis that I am hoping will work.

I have had PF for 11 years, on and off, depending on how careful I am being about taking care of my foot health.

These are things that work:

*seeing a foot specialist who made orthotics--casting the foot with me upside down (which was the one position we found where my feet didn't hurt)
*one aspirin/advil/tylenol (whichever) in the AM and one in the PM whether you hurt or not, to reduce inflammation
*alternating ice/hot water baths (three minutes in ice water, one min in hot, repeat 3x twice a day)
*stretching before you get out of bed in the morning
*better shoes (for me, it's Birkenstocks and Crocs)
*wear high heels (or clogs) to walk to the bathroom if you get up during the night because that way you don't walk without stretching out your foot
*standing on a foam balance pad to stretch your feet
*walking only on dirt paths

These methods have mostly taken care of the PF. It is currently flaring up because I ran downhill a few weeks ago. Oh well. Now I know not to do that.

ivoryk

make sure it's pf and not a bone spur. I lived with pain for about a year until I finally had an xray. One well-placed cortisone shot worked miracles.