Plantar fasciitis- business casual semi dressy shoe

[LuvOrlando]

Forget tennis balls, specialty shoe stores, night stretches, and drugstore inserts.
Go to the podiatrist.

I messed around with a lot of different things for several years -- then I finally had the podiatrist make me two pairs of custom inserts (which cost me only the co-pay for the doctor's visit). I've been wearing the first pair for four years now, and they're just starting to show wear.

The inserts don't fit in all my shoes (for example, goodbye strappy sandals), but they're wonderful. I wear Keds tennis shoes, boat shoes, and loafers. When I want to wear sandals, I can wear Chacos or some Sketchers ... they must have strong arch support, a high strap that comes near the ankle, and a cupped foot bed ... and they aren't quite as good as tennis shoes with the custom inserts.

This is important to understand too: If you're actively having trouble with your PF, your muscles are probably inflamed. The right shoes will MAINTAIN your muscles, but they will not "fix" inflamed muscles. The podiatrist will give you a (very painful but effective) cortisone shot in the foot. Take it: the shot will make a world of difference.

I am not a candidate for the cortisone shots, it can cause rupture because of the kind of arthritis I have so it’s just me figuring out what works but I think your advise is really good for most people reading.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I started suffering from pf and I was luckily able to find a personal trainer who taught me stretches that helped me stop it. Now when I start feeling it coming on I do the stretches. I also started trying out lots of different types of shoes until I discovered which brands work for me. I have high arches, along with a wide toe box and narrow heels. For everyday shoes I usually buy Clarks. I head straight to the New Balance store for sneakers. I also found that wearing the right socks made all the difference when I'm working out or doing something physical. They're expensive but I love these socks I found at the New Balance store that provide my arches with extra support.

The final step was finding an excellent massage therapist that specializes in sports injuries. When I injured my knee and had to have surgery, she was the one who figured out that there were problems with my hip because of the fall, not my orthopedist. She was able to help me fix the problems with my hip and was able to reduce the swelling in my knee enough so I could have the surgery I needed much sooner than my orthopedist expected it to happen. Her treatments are expensive but make a huge difference. It's difficult to find a massage therapist who has the training to do what she does (instead of just massaging muscles) but you'll never return to regular one once you've found one.

Funny you say that, so far the clarks seem like they are letting me heal (I’m astonished) and the NB store had sneakers with amazing cushions - I think memory sole (but these I didn’t get yet)

I can’t do the massage because I have arthritis so no one can touch me but I hear some people say great things about it.

 

[LuvOrlando]

First, no kind of dressy shoe is needed for Epcot, even for a nicer dinner.

Try www.easyspirit.com . Variety of styles, sizes, widths.

I know I don’t “need” it but I’d like to find something nicer

I can check them out- I found some great Naturalizer booties but haven’t seen anything easy spirit that’s caught my eye - maybe an outlet would have a big enough selection. I’ll look, thanks for the reminder

 

[momof2gr8kids]

No advice on the dressy shoes, but I went to a chiropractor that did some sort of scraping therapy. After about 3 sessions my right foot was fine (and still is). My left foot is better and flares up once in a while, but no where near the pain it was before.

 

[BostonEd]

I don't know if this is too late for the OP, but I was surprised to see very few references here to Vionics. They make exactly the kind of shoe OP is looking for. They work great.

Regarding inserts: Dr Scholls makes a FULL LENGTH one specifically designed for plantar fasciitis. I think these are far superior to the 3/4 length ones people here have mentioned a couple times. HOWEVER, you do need to have shoes where the current insole can be removed, or else it's going to mess up how your shoe fits.

Also check out Kuru's line. I haven't tried them (yet) but they do have a few styles which might be considered "business casual".

Clarks, Easy Spirit... these are decent shoes if you don't already have problems, but if you have plantar fasciitis, they're not going to be much better than anything else. A little, but not much. But again, if you can remove the insole and get the Dr Scholls full-length insert in there, then they would probably be great.