Best Womens Sandals for Plantar Fasciitis

Summer is time for walking barefoot, taking walks on beaches and letting your feet feel the sand between your toes. However both those activities can be very painful for people with plantar fasciitis. You would think walking barefoot would be very natural, and walking in the soft sand would exercise the muscles in your feet. But it actually makes the pain worse.

I have battled with Plantar fasciitis for many years. The symptoms of painful feet when I first get up will come and go depending how active I have been on my feet. Part of the pain in my feet and ankles can also be attributed to peripheral neuropathy or small fiber neuropathy which causes numbness and weakness in the extremities.

It got so bad I couldn't walk without limping or support and my five walks on the trail had to be eliminated. In fact I couldn't walk more a few blocks without paying for it later. Last fall I started going to a tonal chiropractor and he has helped tremendously with getting nerve signals back to my muscles, but I also think the shoes I have been wearing lately have contributed greatly to the healing.

For the first time ever I am wearing flip flops on a daily basis during the summer and my feet have never felt better.

Image by Flickr Creative Commons

Flip flops and me never really got along, besides being flat with no support there was something about the thong between my toes bothered me, I always got blisters. The pain didn't seem worth the fashion statement. But the minute I slipped my feet into a pair of Orthaheels my feet fell in love. I'm not kidding you. Seriously, I felt balanced and the weight was evenly distributed across my entire foot.

The sales clerk at the store suggested I gradually get used to the added arch support by wearing them a few hours a day. Since I had been wearing Merrels and custom arch inserts this wasn't a problem and I wore them all day, every day for the next month.

By the way Orthaheel shoes are now called Vionic but they still have the Orthaheel technology, just more fashionable designs.

I recently spent three days in Chicago and walked all day in my Orthaheels and Birkenstock and did not have ANY pain whatsoever $6 at the end of the trip. i'm serious. I walked on the beaches of Michigan lake, ran across the cross walks, stood on trains and at the end of the day I still had energy to spare.

My daughter is on the right, notice how tan she is, she's a lifeguard at the pool. I'm on the left, you can see my flip flop tan line on the top of my feet, ok, it's not much or a tan compared to my daughter, we actually look quite pale, but it's still there. That's how much I wear my Orthaheels.

My best friend (center foot above) has wore Birkenstocks for over twenty years and swears by them. She has been trying for years to get me to buy a pair and I finally gave in. I have a suede pair of slip on clogs to wear with jeans and slacks and I wear them with and without socks.

If your budget is tight, or you want more bang for your buck when it comes to shopping check out the shoes deals on eBay. Often people don't give their shoes enough of a chance and after just trying them on decide they won't work.

They have good intentions of returning them to the store, but either wait too long or forget to keep the receipt. You can find lots of great shoe deals this way if you are patient and look hard enough.

If you have a favorite brand or pair of shoes that has helped your plantar fasciitis or peripheral neuropathy I'd love to hear about it.