Best Shoes for Plantar Fasciitis: How a Former Pro Team PT Selects Plantar Fasciitis Shoes
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Finding the best shoes for Plantar Fasciitis can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. With so many options and opinions, it’s hard to know which pair will truly help alleviate your pain.
Luke Ferdinands, our co-founder and a seasoned physical therapist who has worked on pro sport teams, is here to help you navigate this complex landscape. Here’s how he would choose the best Plantar Fasciitis shoes for his patients. It's part science, part art - and as archaic as it may sound, the bottom line is to do in-person shopping.
The idea that good shoes can prevent Plantar Fasciitis has been around for a while. The science behind it has been inconclusive, however. There are many shoes designed to provide arch support and cushioning, claiming to prevent this painful foot condition, but despite significant advancements in shoe technology over the past 20 years, the incidence of chronic foot pain, including Plantar Fasciitis, has continued to rise.
That's why Luke has been skeptical of the claim that a particular shoe design can prevent or treat Plantar Fasciitis in any meaningful way.
However, the most recent research offers some evidence that the right shoes can make a difference in Plantar Fasciitis recovery. Shoes alone are unlikely to prevent the condition, but the current science suggests that they can alleviate symptoms and accelerate recovery - by helping you stay active and continuing to do what you love to do.
Plantar Fasciitis affects the plantar fascia, a thick band of tissue running across the bottom of your foot. This tissue acts as a shock absorber for your arch. When it’s damaged due to repetitive stress from walking, running, or standing, you typically develop pain in your arch or heel.
Given these Plantar Fasciitis pain locations, it’s natural that arch support and heel cushioning are often listed as the key features to look for in shoes for Plantar Fasciitis.
However, high arch support and heel cushioning are actually not a one-size-fits-all recommendation for Plantar Fasciitis shoes. Human anatomy is too variable for a one-size-fits-all solution.
Luke’s 20 years of in-person physical therapy practice taught him that patients with Plantar Fasciitis have a wide variety of foot anatomies (like everyone else!). Some have high arches, others have low arches. Feet width vary; thickness does, too. Some feel pain primarily in the heels, while others feel it in the arch.
So, there’s no single rationale for what design feature constitutes a “good” Plantar Fasciitis shoe for everyone. That's why we aren't recommending any particular pair of shoes, or any particular design feature in this article.
The best shoes for Plantar Fasciitis are the pair that fits your specific foot structure, pain location, and the specific types of load that your daily activities place on your injured tissue.
The key to finding the best shoes for Plantar Fasciitis is to find the ones that work for your feet. Here’s how:
Don’t go by those "best Plantar Fasciitis shoes" listicles and buy the most recommended shoes online. You have to try them on.
Visit a shoe store that specializes in comfortable shoes for active people, or one that offers professional shoe fitting services if you can, but any physical store is better than an online shoe store.
Walk around in different styles of shoes, and pay attention to the following features:
Level of Arch Support: Some shoes provide high arch support, while others are zero drop, keeping your foot level from heel to toe. Others fall somewhere in between. See what level of arch support feels comfortable for you.
Rigidity of the Sole: Some people with Plantar Fasciitis prefer soft, cushioning soles, while others find rigid soles, like carbon fiber soles, more supportive. See what feels best for you.
This recommendation may feel unscientific and nebulous, but the current literature supports selecting shoes that feel the most comfortable. Being subjective is the whole point.
More than any “best Plantar Fasciitis shoe guide” you might find online, actually trying them on and listening to your body is your best bet for finding shoes you can wear without pain.
Once you think you’ve found the right pair, do a Heel Walk Test to really make sure it's The One. (This is also the test we use in our Plantar Fasciitis exercise program to assess your progress toward pain-free, as you work through your daily recovery routine.)
Walk on your heels in the shoes and go with the pair that doesn’t cause you pain. The shoes should not cause pain when you stand in them, walk in them, or perform the Heel Walk Test.
If you already have a brace you know you want to wear to relieve foot pain, bring it with you when you go shoe shopping, and test out the combinations. That makes it easy to find shoes that are adjustable enough to accommodate your foot brace.
That's a more effective strategy than insoles or aggressive arch support shoes - here's why:
Even shoes with aggressively high arch support don’t actually reduce the load on the plantar fascia as you walk or run. Arch support built into shoes, or in the form of insoles, only push up against the arch, so when you walk, the same amount of force continues to go through the tissue, further causing irritation and damage.
To effectively relieve pain and give the tissue a healing break, wear a foot brace for Plantar Fasciitis inside your shoes. A brace can lift the arch and reduce the stress on the damaged tissue, instead of just pushing the arch up, promoting healing and reducing pain.
Let’s be honest: dress shoes are a challenge when you have any kind of foot pain. They are mostly designed to look good, not to provide comfort. However, here are some tips to find dress shoes that don’t exacerbate your Plantar Fasciitis symptoms.
Visit a Shoe Store in Person: Try on as many pairs as needed to find the ones that don’t cause you pain.
Bring Your Foot Brace: Since most dress shoes don’t have much in the way of arch support, you’d want to wear a Plantar Fasciitis brace, like the Loft 2 Brace, with your dress shoes to lift the arch and reduce aggravation. Make sure to bring your foot brace to the shoe store and try the dress shoes on with the brace to ensure they have enough room to accommodate it.
Go Up a Size If Necessary: Don’t be afraid to go up a size or two. Especially if you have to wear dress shoes often, having a comfortable pair that you can wear with a Plantar Fasciitis brace will be worth the investment.
Finding the best shoes for Plantar Fasciitis is really a personal journey. While expert recommendations can help you narrow down your list, the most important factor is how the shoes feel on your feet.
Try on different styles, pay attention to comfort, and make sure you can wear the shoes with additional support you need, like a Plantar Fasciitis foot brace. By paying attention to how your feet feels and taking the time to find the right pair, you can significantly improve your comfort and support your recovery from Plantar Fasciitis.
Also remember that the right shoes are just one part of the solution. Combining them with proactive at-home Plantar Fasciitis treatment can help you achieve lasting relief from Plantar Fasciitis without having to visit a doctor or physical therapist. Listen to your body, and take proactive steps toward a pain-free life.
Personalized Fit is Key: Foot anatomy is different among people with Plantar Fasciitis. The best shoes for Plantar Fasciitis are those that fit your specific foot structure and pain location.
Try Before You Buy: It's important to try on several shoe styles in a store to find the best fit, focusing on comfort, level of arch support, and sole rigidity. Listen to your body, and trust your gut.
Heel Walk Test: Conduct a heel walk test to ensure the shoes do not cause pain when standing, walking, or performing this test, which helps you see if the pair is The One.
Foot Brace for Support: Bring your Plantar Fasciitis foot brace to the store and wear it inside the shoes when you look for your best pair.
Dress Shoes Consideration: Try them on with your brace to make sure there's enough room. Don't be afraid to go up a size or two - it'll be worth it.
Alleviate was founded by a patient-and-clinician duo to bring the effective chronic pain treatment from physical therapy offices to everyone's home. In the last three years, over 20,000 users have recovered from chronic pain conditions, using the Alleviate Method.
Add the Plantar Fasciitis System | Performance Edition to your self-care toolkit, and take control of your foot pain better than you could with just the right shoes. We'll guide you all the way to full recovery.
Luke Ferdinands, Physical Therapist & Co-Founder
A New Zealand-trained physical therapist with over 20 years of experience, Luke developed the Alleviate Method to bring the gold standard of physical therapy care to everyone's home. Luke leads the development of physical tools and digital physical therapy content, focusing on driving clinical outcomes for people with chronic musculoskeletal pain conditions like Tennis Elbow, Plantar Fasciitis, Runner's Knee, and more.
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