Shoes for plantar fasciitis - My personal experience

In 2018 I turned 40 and decided I needed to set myself some new challenges to keep myself out of trouble.

I've always been sporty and do around 5-7 hours of exercise in a normal week so the challenges I set myself were all sports related.

One of the challenges was to do a 'Tough Mudder'.

Let's get one thing straight - I am not a runner!  I may like to keep fit but because of my overpronating feet, large bunions and the fact that I just hate running - it has never formed part of my exercise routine.

Tough Mudder seemed like something that was more up my street - it may have been running over 8 miles but what appealed to me was that the running was interjected with 40 obstacles.  I love obstacles and it also gave me an excuse to up my overall strength and fitness training in order to prepare.

The day was incredibly enjoyable!  Mainly because I managed to rope in my husband and several friends to 'enjoy' it with us!  I coped with the obstacles well and didn't feel too out of breath on my way running round.

However, a few days after the run, it was a whole different story...

On my way walking home from the train station I thought I had pulled a muscle in my legs as I was finding it really painful to walk - I thought it was from the run so tried to walk and exercise it off.

The pain was not going away and when I tried to locate the exact nature of the pain I realised it was in my feet themselves, which could only be relieved by walking on the balls of my feet, and I had developed a foot condition called 'plantar fasciitis'.

On investigation, I found that Plantar fasciitis is inflammation of the plantar fascia, a part of your foot that connects your heel bone to your toes.

Symptoms of plantar fasciitis include pain around the heel and arch of your foot. Exactly what I was experiencing.

At first, I was concerned as it can take many months to cure plantar fasciitis and what was even more distressing was that I couldn't power walk to and from the train station for work in my usual trainers without being in excruciating pain.

I did a bit more research and read that the best types of footwear to wear for plantar fasciitis were ones that included a raised heel and arch support. 

Ping!

A light bulb moment made me realise that the Calla 'Charlotte' ballet-style flats - one of our best selling shoes - fitted that exact description so I tried them out.

Low and behold all of the plantar pain went away when I walked in them!

They were literally the ONLY pair of shoes I owned that I could wear with my plantar fasciitis.  And miraculously after a week and half it had completely cured.

Now I can't guarantee that our Calla Charlotte shoes will help your plantar fasciitis too, but I would definitely say to give them a go. 

Each pair is made from soft butter leather or suede, they have a cushioned insole and importantly have a hidden heel as well as moderate arch support.  What have you got to lose!

Jennifer x