Painful Heels and Feet Shoe Recommendations

[lvillotta1]

A little background. 42 and a RN have been on my feet for 20years. Also have fibromyalgia. My body is so tired. My feet hurt bad and I am to the point where I feel like I need to be in tennis shoes all day everyday. Price is no option at this point. What do you all recommend? I am so desperate to feel better and I have to continue to work since I am the sole bread winner as a single mom. Right now I can only handle 2 12 hr shifts a week. I am hoping to be able to work more,but not at this time. I will be so thankful for all of your comments.

 

[bebelle]

I too have problems with my feet. I went to Dick's Sporting Goods and tried on every pair of tennis shoes regardless of price. I ended up buying Brooks and I love them. I wore them to WDW and I was the only member of my family whose feet weren't hurting at the end of the day. They are pricey. I paid about $120. They are worth every penny! Best of luck finding something comfortable.

 

[stefplus3]

I'm an rn too and can only wear danskos at work. I find that I get leg fatigue when I wear sneakers. Have you ever tried danskos? I buy them on 6pm.com, much cheaper then other sites. They don't have a huge selection but if you check often you can find cute ones.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I would see a orthopedic foot specialist. Could it be plantar fasciitis? I work in xray and we're always on our feet too but we do 5-8hr shifts so it's not so bad. I have a coworker & friend who had PF and got special inserts in her shoes. There's also special support braces to wear to bed to keep the ankle flexed.
For her it was only 1 foot but she did need a cane for a while. I'll ask her tomorrow exactly what they recommended.
Hope you feel better soon. Nursing is hard work for sure.

Maybe you can find a different area of nursing that's not so physically demanding like a school nurse or teaching? Just an idea...

 

[lvillotta1]

I tried Dansko's and I hated them. I really tried hard to get used to them,but they were very heavy for me. I know all my nurse friends rave about them,but I am very different and have more medical problems. Thanks for the nice comment.

 

[LaurLaur04]

I have RA with most of my damage in my feet. NOTHING helped. I hated shoes they all hurt. About 3 weeks ago I bought some skechers air shoes. They have memory foam inside and air pockets on the bottom. I LOVE THEM. They may be a little sore after 12 hours (xray tech) but nothing compared to what they used to be!

 

[Oodalally13]

I agree with LaurLaur04 about the Skechers with memory foam. I purchased those as well. My mom has some issues and we dont know whether they are feet or back, but basically it's something causes her to walk funky and leads to back pain. She bought Birkenstocks (granted you couldnt wear them for nursing as they are open slip on sandals). She said when she first put them on and walked from living room to other side of house she heard all kinds of pops and what not in her joints as they like re-aligned. She LOVES them. If price is no option you might try SAS shoes. Mom heard of some great and comfortable shoes there. Tried on a pair of slip on sandals and was gonna buy them. There were no prices anywhere and she asked how much and they said $150. She thought that was a bit much for sandals.

 

[NewRVLady]

I started wearing mostly Josef seibel walking shoes from Dillards
Very comfortable- $100-125
Uses some stretch components in most designs so there is a lot of " give"
I hate a restrictive tight shoe

Also at nordstrom and zappos

 

[wdw4rfam]

I have horrible feet. I wore custom orthotics in my shoes at Disney for years. I then discovered skechers go walks. I have 8 pairs!!!! I wear them every day. I wore them all 11 days at Disney last year........with NO PAIN. I seriously should be paid by skechers because now I have my entire family wearing them. Even my 7 YO DD will only wear them, she retired her crocs for them which is amazing. TRY THEM.

 

[DisneyCrazyX5]

Love skechers go walk - they are my teacher shoes. I have Brooks for the treadmill and love Fitflps. My heel pain has lessened so much it is almost never a problem anymore.

 

[Starwind]

I live in my Crocs; they have ones designed for workplaces, including medical environments, that do NOT have holes. They also have ones with leather uppers. When my feet are really sore, crocs are often the only shoes I can wear.

For heels I find Tuli's Heel Cups (especially the mint green ones) to be very good. They fit inside your shoes.

My doctor recommended never walking barefoot; since I started following that advice by wearing a pair of Crocs inside the house (we take outside shoes off when we come inside, so these ones are only worn inside), it has made a tremendous difference.

I am going to be trying Kuru shoes soon. they appear to have a good return/exchange policy. However, I have not actually tried them yet so cannot say how good they are in practice

-SW

 

[ketodisney]

I'm considering trying a pair of crocs for my Disney trip coming up.

 

[scrhsa]

Teva's work for my plantars. In particular the Dozers...not real pretty but work great. Any pair that has the added heal cushion are good. I just bought a pair of the Tirra sandals and they -so far- work great. Like another poster said, I dont like my foot to be constricted. I jokingly call it foot claustrophobia I had some new balances that were fantastic but they dont make them anymore and I havent found a really good pair of tenny shoes that work well without an insert. Birkenstocks work well for me too. But not sure if I would want to wear them to the park...though I did wear a pair to Fiesta Texas years ago and they held up well even when wet.

 

[MrsPete]

As a teacher, I'm also on my feet all day -- I'm also just a bit older than you, and I am having the same problems. I used to be able to wear low heels or wedge shoes or little flat sandals in the warm months. No more. Like several other people on this thread, I am also in love with Sketchers, and they're moderately price: I have 5-6 pair at this point, and they average $35-45. They also have a great selection of colors and several styles that I like; I have the memory foam tennis shoes, the slip-ons, and two pair of sandals. I'm not sure exactly what is right about them, but on the days I don't wear them, I'm sorry I didn't.

Incidentally, like a couple others, I have mild PF -- but the doctor gave me some foot exercises that work wonders for that problem, and if I avoid my #1 trigger (lying on the love seat with my feet dangling /toes pointed), it pretty much stays away. The other issue is IF you're carrying extra pounds, you're asking your feet and legs to work harder.

 

[blessedby3]

I have PF too…and a heel spur. My feet hurt a lot! I wear Dansko constantly in the winter (but they don't look too snazzy with shorts) so in the summer I wear my New Balance tennis shoes. I asked recently on the boards about a good sandal for walking the WDW parks and most recommended Vionic by Orthaheel. I bought a pair and have been wearing them in the house. Hoping that I will be able to wear them in the parks.

 

[Brer Shay]

Just before hitting 40, I was having horrible foot pain and got to the point you mentioned that the money didn't matter, I just had to find shoes that worked! I went to Irving's Shoe Fly (don't know if you have one nearby), but any serious running shoe store should give a similar experience. They tested my feet and stance, fit me with excellent shoes including "semi-custom" orthotics for the way I stand and walk, and after two weeks of adjusting to the new shape my foot pain was gone. That was a few years ago and the difference is amazing. I paid a good bit for that first visit, but I got the knowledge of what and how to buy and adjust shoes to do what I need. I can now order shoes and the orthotics online successfully and pay a good bit less. It really changed so much for me.

 

[Mrs. Bradbury]

Fitflop and Crocs both make "nurse white" work shoes. My daughter went with Dansko XP, I think was the name, and loves them. They are lighter than regular Danskos. She began 12 hour shifts in clinicals this spring and will graduate this fall. I am really pushing the support hose on her too; not sure how successful I've been.

I loooove Fitflops. I can come home from work with my back/feet hurting and put them on to stand to cook and my pain goes away. I prefer them to being barefoot, and I never thought I'd see that day!

 

[kiki02]

Fitflop and Crocs both make "nurse white" work shoes. My daughter went with Dansko XP, I think was the name, and loves them. They are lighter than regular Danskos. She's began 12 hour shifts in clinicals this spring and will graduate this fall. I am really pushing the support hose on her too; not sure how successful I've been.

I loooove Fitflops. I can come home from work with my back/feet hurting and put them on to stand to cook and my pain goes away. I prefer them to being barefoot, and I never thought I'd see that day!

but they have ' no back strap'. don't you think that's somehow stressful on calves and feet?

 

[kiki02]

I too have problems with my feet. I went to Dick's Sporting Goods and tried on every pair of tennis shoes regardless of price. I ended up buying Brooks and I love them. I wore them to WDW and I was the only member of my family whose feet weren't hurting at the end of the day. They are pricey. I paid about $120. They are worth every penny! Best of luck finding something comfortable.

Brooks? Wow, I did not think they helped. Which brooks did you buy and are they made especially for this or ? maybe i bought the wrong pair...

 

[Mrs. Bradbury]

but they have ' no back strap'. don't you think that's somehow stressful on calves and feet?

These do: http://www.fitflop.com/womens/view-...ame&start=8&cgid=view_all_womens&prefv1=White

and these do: http://www.crocs.com/crocs-mercy-work/10876,default,pd.html?cid=067&cgid=work-shoes