Shoes

[house_cat]

Ten years ago, I was dealing with a debilitating case of plantar fasciitis.  I saw a presentation of Vionics and haven't worn anything else since then - they cured me completely.

Recently my son convinced me to try a pair of Birkenstocks.  I put them on for the first time yesterday and thought I was walking on rocks.  I tolerated them for about 30 minutes and gave up. He said I should wear them a bit each day, but I'm afraid to hurt my feet.

Does anyone here wear both brands? 

Have your feet adjusted?

[Spacrazy]

@house_cat  Yes, I have purchased both but try and try could not get the Birkenstocks to work for me even though I tried several styles. Vionics (certain styles) have been good and very helpful for plantars. The brand I love most is Hoka.

[Meowingkitty]

I too have plantar fasciitis and sandals just don't work for me. Birkenstocks kill my feet, SAS and others just don't seem to provide the support I need. Last year I just gave up wearing sandals which is tough because I live in Arizona and it's hot wearing sneakers but I adjusted. 

[haddon9]

It's probably close to twenty years since I've had my first case of Plantar Fasciitis.  Yes it was debilitating and I didn't know what to do. 

I had purchased a pair of wool clogs that I had stored in the back of my closet from LLBean several years before and they had arch support.  After trying to find out about the condition online, one thing that I came across was the importance of arch support which I discovered was a huge help for me with the condition. I wore those clogs a lot at frist. 

Then I found out that Birkenstocks also had arch support.  I purchased a pair of Birkenstock black leather shoes and wore them a lot to work.  I also bought some Birk sandals for warm weather and they worked great for me.  I found them comforatable enough but after a while I got tired of them and well my Plantar Fasciitis was gone so I went back to wearing regular shoes (with no arch support).  A big mistake.

Well Plantar Facsiitis came back after a few years.  That's when Vionics (or Orthaheel at the time) came on the Q with some cute designs.

I haven't purchased any Briks for a long time but I only wear shoes that offer arch support now.  I buy Vionics, Alegria and Spenco.  Once in a while I will buy something that doesn't have arch support but I will put in a supportive footbed.

I don't ever want to get PF again!

[Icegoddess]

I bought some Birkenstocks years ago when they first came out and wore them completely out.  They actually started crumbling on me.  When I went to replace them, the footbed had changed.  The originals had a smooth footbed.  The new ones had a toe grip.  They immediately hurt my feet.  So, I gave up on Birkenstocks, but I did find some faux birkies and have a couple of pair of them for wearing mostly aroung the house.  I wear socks with mine because my feet get cold easily.  Not white socks, but dark ones that blend with my jeans.  

I have a couple of pairs of Vionics and also like them.  I have even considered buying just the footbed to add to some of my shoes.  

I do have one pair of expensive orthotics which I did have to slowly adapt to, but they never hurt my feet even on day one.  Maybe they would have had I tried to wear them all day on day one, but if a shoe hurts as soon as you put it on, I say run the other direction.

[We rescue cats]

I too started out with Orthoheel sandals due to plantar fasciitis, I still make sure I wear shoes with great support. I tried Birkies once, they did not work well for me so I gave them up and now stay with shoes like NAOT, Spenco, Vionic...and since I work from home and spend most of my days in slippers, the same goes for them. If I need to do so I insert an orthotic. I never want to suffer thru that pain again.

[house_cat]

Thanks for the responses.  I'm sometimes tempted to buy other brands like Clarks or Skechers, but I know better.  

I have worn Alegria with no problems, but they're so heavy and clunky and I don't care for them.

I bought the Vionic inserts for dress shoes when I had an event to attend.  I don't feel like they helped at all.

I really had no reason to try anything else, because I have Vionics in every style imaginable, but my son loves his so much that I thought I'd give them a try.  I hope I didn't waste $120.

Thanks for all the other brand suggestions. I did buy a pair of Trotters for a Christmas event and they were very comfortable for the evening. I'm not sure if they'd be good if I wore them more frequently.

[nyc1]

@house_cat  I cannot wear Vionics.  The arch is in the wrong place for me and they hurt my feet.  I've tried twice and failed both times.  

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Birkis.  That is a particular brand of Birkenstock.  They are SO COMFORTABLE for my feet.  I only own the sandals and probably have about 7 or 8 pairs.   I haven't purchased any in years so I have no idea if anything on the footbed has changed. 

[house_cat]

@nyc1 

My son advised me to choose the original footbed. He said the new soft footbed wouldn't offer enough support over time.  He wears them because of back issues and swears by them, but I'm thinking that my feet shouldn't have to adjust to the shoes if they were the correct shoes for me.  

In any case, I have a couple of days off work coming up and I'll try them around the house.

[Jacie]

I wear both successfully. I had plantar fascitis years ago and Birks helped a a lot.

My problem is less with my feet than knees/hip, both have helped. My current Vionics are super comfy and a joy to wear. My Birks are great inside on tile floors.