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What are the best shoes for Plantar Fasciitis?

What are the best shoes for Plantar Fasciitis?
Anyone who has suffered plantar fasciitis will know that it is not to be taken lightly, so the right footwear can be of paramount importance to making a full recovery.

Plantar fasciitis is a common condition that involves inflammation of the plantar fascia, which is a band of tissue along the bottom of the foot that connects the heel bone to the toes that in turn supports the arch of the foot and absorbs shock when walking.

Disclaimer: This information is of a general nature and should not be taken as a diagnosis. All questions and concerns should be directed to your Doctor, Podiatrist or other health advisor.

What are the symptoms of plantar fasciitis?

Illustration of foot with pain highlightedPlantar fasciitis generally causes a “stabbing pain” in the bottom of the foot near to the heel. While some people may experience only mild pain or dull throbbing, for some people it can be excruciating and debilitating.

Although the pain often is worst within the first steps of the day or after long periods of inactivity, such as sitting, but may settle during the day or with exercise, it can also be trigged by long periods of standing activity or time on your feet.

What causes Plantar Fasciitis?

Illustration of the footAlthough there is no “cause” as such, there are many risk factors that can contribute to plantar fasciitis and it is not merely a consequence of too much standing or exercise! Around one in ten people are thought to experience plantar fasciitis at some point in their life.

Plantar fasciitis it is most common between 40 and 60 years old, is more common in women than men, is more likely in people with diabetes and people that are overweight. The risk can also increase for people with reduced ankle movement, flat feet or high arched feet and old or poor-quality footwear can also increase the risk.

Ignoring plantar fasciitis can result in chronic heel pain that hinders your regular activities. Additionally, if you're consistently experiencing heel pain, you’re likely to change how you walk to try to avoid this pain, which can in turn lead to foot, knee, hip or back problems.

It is important then, that if you have or think you may have plantar fasciitis, you take steps to address it.

Luckily, plantar fasciitis is something that can be treated yourself, although if the pain persists after a couple of weeks, you should see your GP to avoid worsening or further complications.

Some steps you can take to treat or ease plantar fasciitis yourself include resting, icing the painful area using an ice pack wrapped in a towel for up to 20 minutes every 2 to 3 hours, stretching and rolling the inflamed tissue and trying to lose weight, if you’re overweight.

Finding the best shoes for plantar fasciitis

Of course, the right footwear is very important in avoiding or overcoming plantar fasciitis.

To avoid undue stress on the tissue it is important that your footwear offers good support and cushioning with good stability underfoot, doesn’t have a high heel and, extremely importantly, that they fit well.

So the things to look for when trying to find the best shoes for plantar fasciitis:
- Offer the right support and stability for the whole foot.
- Have soft materials for cushioning and flexibility.
- Have plenty of room for toes to flex, enabling you to stretch the plantar fascia.
- Are adjustable enough to fit well.
- Have shock absorption and arch support for heel pain relief.
- Are flat: no high heels.

Plantar Fasciitis Shoe and Trainers from DB Wider Fit Shoes

As specialists in footwear for wide, deep, and problem feet, our mission is to offer comfortable shoes that give you the freedom to walk in complete comfort and the joy of living your life to the fullest without thinking about your feet.

So naturally, our shoes are designed with foot conditions such as plantar fasciitis in mind and come with many of the features outlined above as standard.

For support and stability many of our shoes come equipped with a built-in heel cup for support and flared soles for stability. With wider feet comes a wider area of support needed, so our shoes are especially designed to accommodate with specialist lasts for wide, wider, and extra wide feet.

For cushioning and flexibility many of our shoes come with a lightweight, flexible Air-bubble sole, offering extra cushioning as you walk and making it feel as though you’re walking on air!

For room to flex your toes many of our shoes are designed with round or square, deep toe boxes that offer plenty of room for toes to move or for swollen toes to be happy and comfy. We also offer a large range of footwear with toes boxes made from our special stretch material, which stretches offer extra room for toes.

For shoes that are adjustable to ensure good fit we offer a range of fastenings to suit all needs, be they laces for ultimate adjustability and a secure fit, straps for adjustability and security but more suited to people with reduced hand motility, as well as slip on styles.

For good arch support our footwear offers extra versatility: rather than offer shoes designed especially for fallen or high arches or other issues, we supply shoes that have specially designed removable insoles so that you can remove one or both insoles and insert your own specialist insole to keep your feet in the best possible shape.

This allows you to cater for your issue with the insole designed for your need.

All our dual width fitting styles (V, 2V or 6V) come with removable insoles along with many other styles allowing extra room for insoles.

For shoes that fit try our Online Fit Finder. Simply measure your feet with a fabric tape measure, enter your measurements into our Fit Finder and find your size and width fitting requirements along with a selection of styles available in your size and fitting.

Open Quotations Went into your stockist in Oswestry yesterday. I had fantastic service and they were great. I am now walking on air so to speak. The shoes are very comfortable. Thank you so much! Happy feet. Close Quotation
Valerie

With these factors in mind, see our selection of the top 10 best shoes for plantar fasciitis

Garforth is an incredibly comfy wide or extra-wide fitting trainer in suede and leather, with a stretch leather-look toe panel. With a flared heel for increased stability, flexible rubber sole and lace design for a securer fastening, Garforth is the perfect trainer to help relieve plantar fasciitis pain.

Fiji is a modern and stylish shoe in a felt fabric with lace fastening, Air bubble sole for extra cushioning as you walk, round and deep seam-free toe box and soft padded collar for comfort.

Super popular lightweight active style Hawaii has adjustable touch fastening straps, a breathable mesh front panel, flared heel for stability and grippy, flexible rubber sole.

Woman wearing a pair of blue trainers A pair of woollen shoes next to jeans A pair of white trainers on a beach

Everyday shoe Jazz is stylish in leather look stretch material with contrasting panels and a supportive lace-up design, round stretch fabric toe box, additional 5mm foam sock included for extra comfort or to vary the depth and air bubble sole for extra cushioning as you walk.

Jazz is also made with no animal products, meaning it is vegan-friendly footwear!

Another vegan-friendly style with similar features is Page, with smart styling in leather look material with double touch strap which gives even more fit adjustment.

Rory is a new style based on our best-ever selling shoe, oft described as “the comfiest shoe you will ever wear”!

Made from beautiful soft leather with adjustable touch fastening strap and lightweight, shock absorbent air-bubble sole for extra cushioning as you walk.

Bracken is a super cute lace-up style also built on our super cushioned lightweight air-bubble sole, with round toe shape in the same beautiful soft leather as Rory, with a little give for toes to move and feet to swell.

A collage of women's shoes

Soft leather or suede ankle boot Shade is built on our lightweight, shock-absorbing bumper sole with a lace-up design and round toe shape, whilst similar Dark also comes with knitted ankle collar for comfort and is also vegan friendly.

Super popular Callisto is a fabulous style in metallic printed leather that is cleverly designed with laces and inside zip so that once you've fitted with the laces you can just zip on and off for ease of access.

A woman wearing a pair of boots sitting on wood A pair of black boots on a table A pair of red boots on the floor

Browse all ladies wide-fitting shoes »

Of course, men also suffer from plantar fasciitis too so, don’t worry, we have you covered too!

Our men’s range of wide and extra wide supportive footwear include many of the same design features that make our ladies range suitable for such a variety of foot health conditions, including lightweight shock absorbing soles, heel cups and flared soles for security and stability and a choice of fastenings for adjustability and fit.

Classic casual lace-up style Congo, along with many of our men’s casual styles, features a super stable, air-bubble sole, round toe-box and soft padded ankle collar for improved comfort.

Washington is a modern leisure shoe in soft washed canvas with a flexible, rubber sole and lace-up design.

Konrad is a sporty men’s shoe with punched panels and piping detail and elastic fastening for a comfortable fit and easy access. It also features our special dual density sole: an air bubble mid-sole for cushioning with rubber outer-sole for improved grip.

Seb is our best-selling men’s wide-fitting trainer that’s sporty and supremely comfortable, in flexible, soft leather and nubuck. The lace-up style gives easy adjustment - perfect to ease the fit during the day if required.

Here’s what Mr P had to say about Seb:
Open Quotations 3rd pair of these shoes. Excellent fit and super comfy yet again. Close Quotation

A collage of men's shoes

Browse all wide-fitting shoes for men »

All styles listed include built in heel cup for security and are available in our wide 2V(EE-4E) and 6V(6E-8E) variable width fittings, with removable insoles for the insertion of specialist insoles and are Healthy Footwear Guide approved shoes.

Disclaimer: This information is of a general nature and should not be taken as a diagnosis. All questions and concerns should be directed to your Doctor, Podiatrist or other health advisor.

Whilst we may be able to help with suitable footwear we know that the care of your feet is important to your health. Why not check out our Foot Health Partner page to locate someone who may be able to help you!

NEW TO OUR SHOES? Find out more about how we can help!

Someone zipping up red boots with wide feet text

Risk free footwear

We know that it’s really difficult to order footwear online and find the perfect fit, but we want to make it as easy, risk-free and stress-free as possible. That’s why we offer free postage on returns and exchanges on all UK orders so that, if you’re in the UK and have ordered from us and the shoes aren’t right for whatever reason, you can give us a call to discuss the problem and return them to us, unworn except for trying on to exchange for a different size, style or fitting without paying a penny more in postage.

Once you’ve found your perfect fit, you’ll never look back!

We hope that you agree that our wide-fitting shoes, trainers and sandals offer the perfect fit for every wide, deep or problem foot!

VAT Exempt footwear

Did you know, if you need 6E, 6V or 8E fitting footwear and have a qualifying condition, that you might be eligible for VAT relief?

This means that you could essentially benefit from a discount of 20%. And what's more, our promotional discount codes still apply, meaning you can gain further savings.

We make it easy to claim your VAT relief by clearly listing the VAT exempt price against qualifying products, and provide a very short form to fill out as part of the checkout process when ordering your 6E, 8E or 6V fitting shoes.

Qualifying conditions for VAT free purchases include physical or mental impairment that affects your ability to carry out everyday activities, for example, blindness; conditions treated as chronic sickness, such as diabetes, arthritis or lymphedema; and long-term illnesses.

Look out for the link underneath our available fittings on each product page to claim your VAT exemption.

Need Our Help?

If you’re unsure about anything at all to do with our styles, features or fittings and whether they’re right for you, please do contact us on +44 (0)1933 311 077, Monday to Friday, 9-5 to speak with one of our friendly, knowledgeable UK based customer services team, who will be delighted to help.

OR would you like some in-person help to find the perfect fit for your feet? Then why not book an appointment and visit our Fitting Centre in Rushden, Northamptonshire.

We offer a traditional, personal service to help you find the perfect shoes either for naturally broad feet, to accommodate orthotics and or for foot health issues such as arthritis, lymphedema, diabetes, bunions and many more.

Our appointment system ensures you'll receive our team's full attention and there's no obligation to buy.
Check out our Fitting Centre details today for further information.

Why not check out some of our other blog posts to help you with you feet.
Our Top 5 Ways To Keep Active »
How to find your perfect fit »
Your Wide Fit Autumn Wardbrobe »

More of what our customers say:

Open Quotations I'm a new DB customer and I'm delighted with the three pairs of shoes I've bought. I'd reached the stage where walking was so difficult that I was in constant pain. Now, I'm walking comfortably, even when road surfaces are rough and so my fitness and physical stability are improving. The side zip in my boots means I can take them off easily and it's great to have the option of inserting insoles. I would recommend you to anyone who, like me, has problem feet. Thank you very much! Close Quotation
Mrs G

Open Quotations I highly recommend this company. They have saved me (Size 6 with very high instep and very wide feet EEEEE needing room for orthotic inserts) after years of painful feet, terrible posture and hideous shoes. Close Quotation
Penny

Open Quotations They are the only shoes I have had that don’t cramp my hammer toes, I absolutely love them and wish I had found them years ago. Close Quotation
Veronica Simmons

Open Quotations What a treat. Wish I had found you years ago. Fashionable and comfortable, what a combination. I couldn't believe I could actually walk without pain. I have now ordered three more pairs, for different circumstances. Close Quotation
Mrs H

Open Quotations I have had problems with my feet for years, very high insteps, broad feet and one leg slightly shorter than the other. All this has caused knee pain and I have been having inserts made for my shoes for several years.
It was in fact the hospital podiatrist that gave me a catalogue for this company and I haven’t looked back.
These shoes fit so well and allow for my inserts. They are strong, well-made and attractive.
I have lost count of the shoes I have had from you winter and summer range and slippers. They are attractive shoes for all occasions and I love them. Highly recommend everyone to give them a try. Close Quotation
Janice

Open Quotations My husband is very pleased as he doesn't have to listen to me gasping with pain every time my foot hits a slightly uneven surface or complaining of sore toes and heels. Thank you so much, it is not an overstatement to say your shoes have changed my life! Close Quotation
Mrs B

Find out what more of our customers say »