If you’re feeling the brunt of plantar fasciitis, believe me, you’re not the only one going through this heel pain. Especially given the amount of time we stand on our feet, it’s no wonder that the heel bone rebels from time to time.
Shoes like Birkenstocks are often recommended as a way out. So, are Birkenstocks good for plantar fasciitis?
Birkenstocks are good for plantar fasciitis. A few adjustments to your lifestyle, like wearing shoes with proper heel support, could dramatically improve foot health. Birkenstock sandals are one of these oft-recommended shoes. With a combination of innovation and evolution, they have gained well-deserved global fame.
In This article, we will go into detail about Birkenstocks for planter fasciitis and will give you some best recommendations at the end of the article. Keep reading…
What's Inside:
Plantar Fasciitis, What Exactly Is It?
Plantar fasciitis is a particular kind of heel pain that involves a ligament called plantar fascia. It’s a web-like, thick ligament that acts as a connector between the frontal portion of the foot and the heel. By supporting the foot arch, it facilitates walking. Its functions also include frequent shock absorption.
Exercises such as running, jogging, and even regular walking cause wear and tear to the plantar fascia. It’s actually a common thing for ligaments to go through this tearing process.
But it becomes a major issue when the rate of wearing is too much to be counterbalanced by the natural healing process. The result is inflammation, stiffness, and pain. This is the orthopedic condition doctors refer to as plantar fasciitis.
Causes of Plantar Fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis is caused by a wide range of reasons; much of which are yet to be discovered. But the repeated tearing, stretching, and straining of the plantar fascia is the immediate source of this pain. Below are some of the causes responsible for this ligament damage.
Running
The bowstring shaped ligament bears the brunt of all the shocks your foot absorbs. Needless to say, running causes the foot to go through way more shocks compared to most other exercises.
As the impacts caused by running are frequent and rhythmic, it puts the ligament under especially heavy stress. Thus running is one of the foremost causes of plantar fasciitis.
Obesity
Stress is weight divided by area. As the body weight grows, the size of our feet doesn’t increase along with it. So the heavier one is, the higher the pressure on his feet will be. Thus obesity has a direct and proportional relationship with plantar fasciitis.
Age
Like many other health issues, plantar fasciitis also comes haunting the elderly. It’s because of the strains they’ve sustained through the years. Heel bone becomes particularly fragile in later periods of life and can’t take up as much pressure as before. This accentuates the pain even more.
Dancing
Professional dancers often suffer from plantar fasciitis. The reason is rather obvious, isn’t it? They spend most of the time performing on their toes and heels. Both of which are at the opposite end of the same ligament.
This is why, despite a relatively healthy lifestyle and exercise, dancers face this illness more commonly than regular people.
Standing
It may come as a surprise to many that even standing can cause severe heel pain. The caveat is: if one stands for an extended period of time. That’s why teachers and factory workers often find themselves at the receiving end of plantar fasciitis.
Walking
A mundane act, such as walking, if not done properly, can result in chronic foot pain. An awkward way of walking can deprive the foot of getting adequate support. Walking barefoot, when one’s not accustomed to it, can also damage the ligament.
What Are Birkenstocks?
Birkenstocks, a German brand famous for its ergonomically designed shoes. Its orthopedic insole, which is also known as Birkenstock footbed, is priced for its uncanny ability to provide both cushioning and stability to the feet.
Starting in the late nineteenth century, the brand has passed the test of time and gained a global reputation for overcoming foot issues such as bunions, foot pain, ingrown toenails, and calluses. In many circles, it’s widely recommended as an easy fix for plantar fasciitis.
Birkenstocks can be incredibly comfortable without undermining the aesthetic appeal. Orthopedically designed and available in a wide variety of styles, it makes a perfect synergy between functionality and fashion.
Foot-Friendly Features of Birkenstock Shoes
Shoes from Birkenstock have a whole range of features that make them stand out as the most widely recommended sandals for comfort and stress relief. These features include a toe bar, arch support, cushioning, footbed, sufficient space, etc.
Toe Bar
Birkenstock sandals have exceptionally well optimized toe bars, also known as toe box. The bar allows for a natural gripping of the shoe. This is especially helpful while you’re in a relaxed state because the toe grip stimulates blood circulation.
Coupled with the strap, the toe bar provides a little extra toe room that facilitates a comfortable toe position. The toe bar also helps the wearer to gain a better balance while standing or walking.
Cushioning
With more than enough cushioning, the Birkenstock shoes ensure comfort throughout the entire foot. The shoes offer so much cushioning that it might even feel uncomfortable at the beginning.
But as you keep wearing it for a while, the cushion gets shaped by your foot, and eventually, it provides you with the highest degree of comfort.
Arch Support
Its superb arch support allows the sandal to bear the entire body weight. This feature provides one with even support and thus helps to improve the pasture. The even distribution of weight has a direct correlation with proper foot alignment.
Which in turn alleviates foot pains, especially issues like plantar fasciitis that is directly related to stress imbalance caused by misaligned feet.
Footbed
The Birkenstocks footbeds are made out of highly resilient latex blended with cork. Its pliable construction material ensures ultimate comfort. The cork footbed is also sensitive to body temperature and helps with the natural heat relief of the foot.
Following the characteristics of the foot, the contoured footbed gets more and more comfortable over time.
Heel Cup
Furnished with a deep heel cup, the sandal can flawlessly secure the natural padding of the foot. This also helps to stabilize the foot by ensuring a proper alignment between the hip, knee, and ankle. The correct alignment of the foot also facilitates pain reduction by countering supination and overpronation.
Space
Things like arch support, soft footbed, deep heel cup, cushioning, toe bar, etc. are features the existence of which make Birkenstocks so great. Then there’s the space factor. That is, the sandals don’t have an excess of features. Rather, it has ample space to ensure an accurate alignment and sufficient gripping.
Sizing Guide
A good arch support or a truly soft footbed won’t do you any good if the shoe size doesn’t match the size of your feet. To get you out of this dilemma, Birkenstocks offers a sizing guide called Birkenstock measuring guide. Use this and figure out the exact size of sandal you need for your feet.
Adjustable Straps
Just like the size, the shape of the foot is also critical to ensure ultimate comfort and safety. Ample arch support simply cannot be provided if the contour of the sandal doesn’t match the foot.
This is especially important in cases of flat feet or high arches. To ensure proper arch support, all the Birkenstocks sandals have adjustable straps that facilitate proper shape matching.
All these features help Birkenstocks to take away much of the stress from your feet when you run, walk or simply stand. These are also very user-friendly for seniors and people who are overweight.
The Detailed Verdict
Here we’ll briefly go through the features of Birkenstocks shoes to see whether or not and how they can help alleviate the pains from plantar fasciitis.
The toe bar allows natural gripping and ensures balance. Comfortable arch support is provided by the footbed and the straps. The deep heel is there for the optimized padding, and the space facilitates a good alignment. To put the icing on the cake, there’s Birkenstock women’s mayari sandals that cater specifically to the women.
These are all perfect for ensuring relief for patients with plantar fasciitis. But it should be stressed that if the size and shape of the foot aren’t taken into proper consideration, there’ll be inadequate support regardless of the brand of shoe one wears. That’s where the Birkenstock measuring guide comes into play.
Thus it’s obvious that people with plantar fasciitis can definitely use the sandals from Birkenstocks for plantar fasciitis and expect a turn in their experience for the better.
Questions in Birkenstocks Plantar Fasciitis
What’s so special about Birkenstocks?
A combination of features like a toe bar, footbed, hill cups, adjustable straps, etc. make the Birkenstocks sandals great for plantar fasciitis. This coupled with a perfect fusion between comfort and style, makes Birkenstocks so great.
Are Birkenstocks shoes orthopedic?
Birkenstocks definitely have a special focus on orthopedic support. Their accurate alignment and comfortable toe room ensure support and release of pressure from ligaments like plantar fascia.
The sandals are specifically patented for oblique toe bar, zero-drop sole design, and anatomical foot support. That’s why they’re so widely recommended for plantar fasciitis.
How comfortable are Birkenstocks shoes for walking?
When it comes to walking on plain lands and urban environments, few brands can butt heads with Birkenstocks. Even people with severe plantar fasciitis can usually walk comfortably with it. That being said, hiking isn’t one of its specialties though it surely can handle mildly rough terrain.
Before You Go
By now, you know in detail how and why Birkenstocks make great sandals for plantar fasciitis. The culmination of orthopedic know-how and a shoe design that’s optimized through the years, Birkenstocks have perfected the art of shoemaking.
If someone asks you, “Are Birkenstocks good for plantar fasciitis?” You definitely know the answer.
So, if you’ve got Plantar Fasciitis, Birkenstock is the go-to brand. But which specific model? Well, there are a lot of them, and you’re the one to make the final decision. But, if you ask me, personally, I recommend Spenco Rx for females and Revs Premium for males.
Why did I choose Spenco Rx? Just look at it, how gorgeous it is. As for the Revs Premium, its optimized reflexological design makes it stand out.
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Myself Nathan Griffin a footwear expert who has over 10 years of experience in the industry. I have worked in all facets of the business, from designing and manufacturing shoes to selling them in stores. I am passionate about shoes and believe that they are an essential part of any outfit. I am excited to share my knowledge with others and help them find the perfect pair of shoes for their style.
