Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've been dealing with Plantar Fasciitis for almost a year, and I've gotten various advice from doctors, forums, and best of all, a shoe salesman. I didn't develop PF by being an active runner. I didn't develop it from plyometrics, or any dynamic and explosive exercise. I developed PF by being too heavy and trying to get to a 10,000 step goal :( This makes it no fun to try and continue that increased activity. The first steps are a real killer in the morning and long days of standing and walking leave me limping. I'm almost over the Plantar Fasciitis now, thanks in no small part to these shoes. I was frustrated that advice from the doctor wasn't helping, and the solutions that runners used and discussed only left me in more pain--all that advise was geared toward preventing PF and helping the athletic recover from a sports injury. The advice I got from a local shoe salesman has really saved me though. First for me. NEVER WALK BAREFOOT, especially early in the morning. I keep a pair of Nike sandals (which are surprisingly supportive) close to the bed and step into them first thing in the morning. Second for me. Get a really GOOD pair of walking shoes for my days off. I opted for these walking shoes. What a difference from the Skechers I'd been wearing. Thanks, Amazon! The local shoe salesman basically explained that I absolutely did NOT want a shoe with a flexible sole. This was the opposite of what an athletic sufferer may want to do. Having the flexible sole forces your foot to get stronger and stretch out the injured section of Plantar Fascia. For me, being the very non-athletic sufferer, it was causing me to constantly re-injure the foot. What shoes work for you may be completely different than what work for me, but I feel I found a good shoe. More below Finally for me. I purchased a set of the Superfeet BLUE Premium Insoles for my work shoes. They add the same kind of support to my work dress shoes that I was finally getting from my sandals and walking shoes. I spend approximately five hours of my day standing and walking, logging 6-8k steps on average. I can finally get through each day (for a few weeks now) with nothing more than normal fatigue. I feel like if always used these insoles and followed the no-barefoot advice I would have been free from PF a long time ago. As anyone who has Plantar Fasciitis knows, it can be a real activity killer. But the combination of the above practices has really allowed some healing over the last several weeks. In fact, I have recently taken up golf and have decided that when I have time or am only playing 9 holes I will walk a course. I am wretched at golf, but it's absolutely awesome that I've gotten through about 100 holes of golf without any PF pain! I will be ordering more shoes from VIONIC and will have great things to say. The one thing I will mention, though, is that they do run small. I wear a men's 13D. If I had to order shoes outside my size I could get away with a size 12.5--my feet aren't long enough to have any issues with an undersized 13, but those of you who find your toes crammed into your shoes I can't help you. If in doubt, order these shoes a half-size too small. You will be receiving a great shoe! What I needed out of a day-off shoe was support, and these shoes have been great. In reference to the golf, my first few rounds I wore these shoes instead of golf shoes. They provided good enough traction that I could play during the tail-end of a wet winter, but more importantly I found I can finally walk a couple miles without massive Plantar Fascia pain! I haven't had to break these shoes in, and I have no blisters or hotspots. Very, very happy with my purchase... I will also be posting an edited version of this review for the insoles I purchased, but I really want to recommend these shoes!