Best Insoles for people with Foot pain/plantars ficisitis

[FooFooCuddlyPoops]

I probably murdered the spelling, but I suffer from bouts of the issue. I also suffer from a pinched nerve in my back. Not to mention....I have recently been watching how I walk, and started to notice I walk toe out, heel in.

Right now, I have been wearing a cheap pair of plantar insoles that I transplant into different shoes. I just started to wear my insoles in to my trail runners as a way to break everything in before I hit the trail in may.

I was just curious on if there was a better insole that everyone raves about for hiking.

Thank
Cara

[theoilman]

I wear Vionics inserts: www.vionic.com (http://www.vionic.com)

[Puddlefish]

I wear Vionics inserts: www.vionic.com (http://www.vionic.com)

http://www.vionicshoes.com/

[TheWhiteWalker]

I have seen several people recommend Superfeet insoles. https://www.superfeet.com/en-us/insoles-and-sandals
They are around $50 and REI also sells them.

[Slosteppin]

I had back surgery 4 years ago - pinched nerve L4/L5 and a bulging disk. My problem was pain all the way down my right leg. Not a bit of pain since I woke up in recovery. We are all different, what works for me might be all wrong for you. The surgeonexplained what he intended then after surgery he explained what he did. Then I said; you made the hole for the nerve bigger and trimmed away the bulging part of the disk. He laughed and said yes you could say it that way.

I got Plantar fasciitis about a year ago. I saw a doctor who showed me how to do stretches and said to ice the foot at least twice a day. I filled a quart Nalgene bottle with water and froze it. Then I rolled the foot, from heel to toe, over the bottle on the floor for 20 minutes 3 times daily. It took over 2 months before I started to see results. I still can't stand hard insoles like superfeet.
I did a Google search for Plantar fasciitis relief. One thing that came up was a shoe insert from REI. That allowed me to start hiking again. Then I found the same thing at Rite Aid for $10 less and it works just as well. I also bought two pair of Asics trail running shoes that are very soft under my feet.

[Another Kevin]

I got Plantar fasciitis about a year ago. I saw a doctor who showed me how to do stretches and said to ice the foot at least twice a day. I filled a quart Nalgene bottle with water and froze it. Then I rolled the foot, from heel to toe, over the bottle on the floor for 20 minutes 3 times daily. It took over 2 months before I started to see results. I still can't stand hard insoles like superfeet.


I've been going through plantar fasciitis for about half a year - it sometimes takes a LONG time to get better. The only insoles I can stand at the moment are orange Superfeet. You're right that the green (which I used to swear by) are too hard. The different kinds have different amounts of cushion and different fit.

[Feral Bill]

The green Superfeet work for me. i wear them daily. YFMV

[Mouser999]

$10 insoles from ProFoot work for me. Also try taping you foot. There are several YouTube videos on this. I have taped and it has worked for me

[colorado_rob]

My severe foot pain problem was Metatarsalgia, and it was debilitating, I almost had to give up hiking, I tried all those off the shelf inserts, nothing really worked, probably wasted at least $100 on them.

So I finally ponied up and went to a foot doc and got actual custom, medical orthotics. $400 for 1st pair, $200 for additional pair. Best $600 I even spent, these CHANGED MY LIFE. I was able to hike again pain-free, been wearing them ever since, I even now refurbish my own using the two original fiberglass bases with my own taped-on padding.

Different from Plantar Fasciitis to be sure, but the concept is the same, consider actual medical orthotics if you can't find any off-the-shelf inserts that work.

[Trance]

Orange Superfeet worked for me.

[Harrison Bergeron]

I've been struggling with plantars for a couple of years, and I've tried every insole known to man. The only thing that ever helped was the month I spent hiking the AT last year in a good pair of boots. Yes, I used some upgraded insoles (Soft Sole from Gander Mountain) but I moved the same insoles to my street shoes when I got home and my Plantars still came back after a couple of weeks, even though I walk a mile and a half every day at lunch.

I think the cure was the rigid shank in the boots. I've been searching ever since for a pair of street shoes that are appropriate for work that have a rigid shank and work as well as the boots. The Merril Moabs that I use for summer Texas hikes don't help a bit. The boots help but I get weird looks at the office when I wear them. By the way, they're Danner 453 GTX, but I imagine any good boot with a rigid shank and good arch support would work as well.

[Flounder940]

It depends if you have "high" arches...or "low" arches...i.e....flat feet. Green Superfeet for high arches. I personally have flat feet, and use the Copper DMP Superfeet.

[ScottTrip]

Superfeet....

[Another Kevin]

It depends if you have "high" arches...or "low" arches...i.e....flat feet. Green Superfeet for high arches. I personally have flat feet, and use the Copper DMP Superfeet.

It depends on several things. I do have a high arch, and I'm a heel striker, and I overpronate. Green worked for me for motion control for a long time, but eventually that heel strike did me in, and I moved up to orange, which has more padding.

I wish there were a good solution for making my feet comfortable in pac boots. Maybe I'll be over this by the time winter rolls around again.

[Praha4]

Green Superfeet insoles are great for hiking.....another great brand of insoles is Orthoheel.

proper stretching is absolutely necessary to get over plantar fasciitis and heel pain and low back pain.

my physical therapist said most men have tight hamstrings, and stretching the hamstrings is a necessity to relieve low back pain. I do hamstring stretches daily now.

I also had surgery last August for a torn achilles tendon. Recovery was slow, but I am now hiking and walking normally again. I have learned a lot about stretching during the last 7 months, and better understand what causes achilles tendon problems. Many times the symptoms of plantar fasciitis are similar to achilles tenonitis, heel pain can seem similar in both. Get good supportive footwear and try some of those insoles.

I'm gradually building back up leg strength and hope to get back up to the AT in May or September for my next section hike.

[Traveler]

CVS has some "Heel and Arch Relief" support inserts that I found work well for the type of plantar fasciitis I have. They are "half" inserts that cushion and elevate the heel and provide some arch support for the tendons.