Can Your Shoes Cause Plantar Fasciitis?

Did you know that your favorite shoes may actually be what is responsible for your plantar fasciitis and related issues? It’s not the best news, but learning this may help you stop hurting your own feet without knowing it. But the good news is that you don’t have to throw your shoes out if that is the case for you.

Instead of your favorite shoes never being worn again, you can simply place plantar fasciitis insoles inside them. Using arch supports for plantar fasciitis treatment has worked for thousands. You can simply read our reviews to see what I mean. They change lives. They’re not the only solution, but they’re a great instant fix that can help you if you’re suffering from plantar fasciitis or foot, back, knee problems and more that are actually associated to your PF.

Here are some shoes that have been shown to be problematic for people who have plantar fasciitis:

1. High Heels and Plantar Fasciitis

It’s possible that your favorite pair of high heels could have led you to develop foot pain. Shoe designers prefer pushing the envelope over maximum comfort when it comes to heels, but the pain may not be worth it.

Research suggests that high heels can cause heel and ankle pain with almost 64% of women who regularly wear them reporting hind foot pain.

High heels don’t exactly offer support or have a sound structure. By wearing high heels regularly, you set yourself up to develop plantar fasciitis. High heels, especially the very high ones, raise the arch of your feet to an abnormal angle. This places more pressure on your heel and if you have plantar fasciitis, it just aggravates your condition.

2. Flats and Plantar Fasciitis

Flats? Unfortunately, wearing flats can result in foot pain. Flats offer little to no support for the arches of your feet, thus preventing your plantar fascia to distribute your weight and the impact of movement as well as they should. If you’re asking yourself what causes plantar fasciitis, and you wear any type of flat, then consider this:

Flats create an increased friction on the heel, toes, and Achilles tendon. Flats have no shock absorbing material and no arch support. This can worsen plantar fasciitis. There’s no data saying it “causes” it. But it can contribute to your plantar fasciitis related pain due to the lack of arch support. And it could very well be your cause or a major factor behind your PF.

One solution to this could be to use a thin plantar fasciitis orthotic inside your flats, if possible. Our Fashion Orthotics are a perfect example of a high quality, thin arch support that’s able to be used inside a flat. However, it may affect performance if you need the flat to conform to your foot as a performer would need, so this may or may not work for you depending on your situation.

Flats further strain and flatten your feet. If you don’t have plantar fasciitis now, there is a chance you can develop it later. Therefore, flats are just as bad as heels. Fashion orthotics are perfect for high heels. They fit inside flats nicely too, so you can wear them inside for times of need.

3. Old Shoes and Plantar Fasciitis

We all have that one pair of shoes that we just can’t seem to throw away. Replacing them doesn’t have to be necessary thanks to quality orthotic insoles. It’s hard to let go of a good pair of shoes that are past their time. Thankfully that doesn’t have to be necessary.

If you suffer from plantar fasciitis, your old shoes will only make your foot pain worse. Old, worn out shoes may no longer offer enough support and can even cause irregularities in your gait. For this reason, if you have plantar fasciitis, you may want to consider a new pair of shoes or replacing your shoes’ insoles with a quality orthotic insoles such as our Natural Foot Orthotics Stabilizer insoles. 

4. New Leather Shoes & PF

Whether it’s old worn out insoles in your past favorite pair of sneakers, or rigid and tight leather that doesn’t allow your foot the proper motion, new shoes, especially leather ones, can cause problems. The problem with new leather shoes are they can make your heel bone rub against the shoe heel, resulting in more pain, discomfort, and an abnormal gait. If your new shoes are doing this to you, breaking them in can help avoid any issues around plantar fasciitis or foot problems from them.

Here’s how to break into them:

1. Fill two zip bags with water
2. Place them inside your shoes
3. Put your news in the freezer for the night
4. When the water freezes, it expands the shoes, stretching them out

5. Can Flip Flops Be The Problem?

Flip flops are one of the most popular “shoes” to wear. They’re convenient, easy, and many now have nice arch support insoles as well. All sandals have issues, but the cheap ones without support are worse. However, your plantar fascia is suffering silently, but soon, it will scream. Flip flops have thin soles. They absorb extremely little impact, thus putting all the pressure on your arch to support your weight and strain of walking, running, and jumping. They also do not offer any support for your heel, which means a sudden shift can result in a sprain. Research suggests that flip flops are one of the main plantar facilities causes, as they offer decreased arch support.

6. Barefoot and Plantar Fasciitis

I see you wearing no shoes even if it is around the house. Heck, I have seen people coming bare feet into the grocery store. They may not realize it later, but they are sending an open invitation to plantar fasciitis to get them when they get older. Walking on a hard surface, bare feet can wreak havoc on your feet. There’s no proper support of any kind, just you, your feet, and the ground. Just wear shoes.

“I will wear shoes all the time, but living without my favorite shoes is impossible”

I hear you. That’s where plantar fasciitis orthotics come into play. Inside your favorite shoes, except for flip flops of course, you can insert arch support inserts. Our plantar fasciitis insoles will allow you to wear your favorite shoes. However, I advise you to also invest in better shoes that offer more support to your entire feet. By wearing our insoles with your favorites shoes, you’re transforming them into plantar fasciitis shoes. Even shoes that offer you good support for your feet, you can still enhance the comfort by wearing them with plantar fasciitis insoles. Gone are the days where you walked out of bed with pain. Felt pain after walking and standing for too long. You can say goodbye to plantar fasciitis forever by taking care of your feet, especially if you are getting older or work in a job that has you doing the rounds most of the day.

I encourage everyone — with plantar fasciitis or not — to invest in plantar fasciitis insoles. Our Stabilizer series of orthotics work for all foot types. The Slim Stabilizer is for flat feet and the Original Stabilizer is for medium to high arches.