Plantar fasciitis is a common ailment of customers at our stores. The plantar muscle is a muscle running under the foot from the heel and under the arch. It is part of a group of muscles responsible for holding up your arch.

As you get older, the shape of your foot changes. The padding you start out with softens and stretches out. Also, the muscles which hold up the arch weaken from the pull of gravity.

We compare this condition to wallpaper on a ceiling (no, I've never heard a doctor use this example, but it's my favorite). As the glue on the wallpaper weakens and the paper no longer adheres to the ceiling, the paper starts to droop. If the ceiling is low enough and you see that, you press your hand against the ceiling, hoping the paper will once again stick. That's the same thing (sort of) that happens to your foot. The solution is pressing up on the arch.

We have seen doctors apply tape around the foot to hold the arch up in extremely painful situations.

The best solution is to wear shoes which have strong solid arches which hold up your arch as you walk or exercise. Flat shoes leave your arches hanging without enough support.

Our recommendations (and our referring doctors' recommendations) for plantar fasciitis is the 926 walking shoe and the 1123MC and 992 running shoes.

New Balance 926 Health/Stability Men | Women

New Balance 1123 Motion Control Men | Women

New Balance 992 Supportive Cushioning Men | Women

When I wear softball cleats, which don't have enough arch support, by the end of the day, my plantar fasciitis causes severe burning in my arches. The next day I wear either the 926 or the 992 and the pain goes away.

We don't guarantee results and we can't promise these shoes will cure you, but we do guarantee they will make the pain go away. That's our "happy feet" guarantee. If after 3 weeks of wearing these shoes your feet don't feel better, JUST RETURN IT™, and we'll be glad to send you different shoes or we will give you a full refund for the price of the shoes.

Happy walking,

Larry

Disclaimer: Larry is not a doctor, although he has a juris doctor degree. Larry also has an L.A.D. degree, which is like a doctor. The opinions herein are solely the opinions of Larry Gershberg, and are not to be interpreted as medical science, just informed opinion.