Plantar Fasciitis and the Perfect Shoes

"After some research, I determined that because I had been wearing completely flat shoes, with no arch support at all, for the past two years my once high arch had fallen and was causing me pain. This is one cause of plantar fasciitis."

For those who have experienced plantar fasciitis, it is imperative to find shoes that provide ample support and do not aggravate the condition causing terrible pain. A few months ago, I began suffering from unbearable pain in the heel and arch of my feet, mostly my right foot. The pain increased to the point where I would tiptoe or limp to try to avoid it. It was at its worst first thing in the morning when getting out of bed and taking my first steps. It would subside and then increase throughout the day to become unbearable by the time I was home again.

I used heating pads initially thinking that I had pulled a muscle or simply overexerted myself and needed proper healing time. But after a couple of weeks of terrible pain, I knew it was more than that.

After researching causes for foot pain, I realized my problem was a fallen arch or plantar fasciitis. This condition can be caused by different things. For me it was obvious. After beginning a new job a couple of years ago, I began wearing completely flat shoes, mostly sandals. It wasn't necessary to wear heels and I was really comfortable in my completely flat shoes. That was until recently. It seems that the continuous lack of arch support caused harm to my naturally high arches. I needed support.

After going through my closet and examining my shoes, I realized that my 2 pairs of Crocs were the only shoes I had that provided support to my arches. One was a pair of flip flops and the others were very casual sandals. I wore them constantly and my feet felt so much better. I tried wearing my flat shoes once again a few days and the pain returned with a vengeance. That's when I decided I would be wearing Crocs from then on, but what about wedges and more dressy-type shoes? I really needed shoes that didn't look so casual.

I began searching for more styles and was very happily surprised by what I found. There were heels and wedges that were Crocs! There were all kinds of styles, patterns, and colors. To top that, they were reasonably priced on Amazon, unlike the stores I had seen some Crocs in. And they were modern, hip, and stylish too! But were they comfortable? According to the numerous comments, they were amazing. Many comments included stories similar to mine and customers were experiencing painless days. I had to try them out. Now, I hadn't been wearing heels for a couple of years, having given them up, but the Croc wedges were so darn cute, I decided to give them a chance.

Surprisingly, there were so many Croc styles to choose from, I had a hard time. But after careful review of comments, I made my decisions. One of my choices was a wedge sandal which had a few extraordinary features. The Leigh II Ankle Strap with Wedge sandal Croc is a great height at 3 inches; fortunately, it only feels like 2 inches because of the thick sole at the front of the foot. The sole itself is flexible so it bends with the foot perfectly. I have found this to be true for all of the Croc shoes that I have purchased. The strap of the front top of the foot is a perfect fit for me - I do have narrow feet. The inside of the shoe where the foot sits is extremely comfortable in every way. My feet do not sweat in these shoes at all. The bonus feature is the buckle which is actually a fake buckle. You never have to buckle or unbuckle these shoes, which is great for me because I hate buckles. All you do is slide the strap over a piece that is hidden and it stays put. It is really genius.

I was actually nervous about wearing these new shoes to work as I hadn't worn heels in a couple of years. To be safe, I brought along my Croc flip-flops so that I could quickly change into them if needed. Upon putting them on for the first time, I was delighted by the light cushiony feel of the sole of the shoe. It felt good against my foot, just like my Croc flip-flops did. I was also impressed by the fact that they didn't feel high at all. At 3 inches, I was scared I would be taking a tumble pretty quickly. Well, I didn't and before I knew it, 8 hours had passed and it was time to go home and my feet felt great! I had absolutely no pain.

I wore them the next day too and had the same positive experience as the day before. My coworkers loved the way they looked and were completely shocked to find out they were Crocs. I loved showing the fake buckle off as well; no one had ever seen this before. Very cool!