Softer shoes for foot pain?

Just for preventing future injury or what? Sounds like you mostly been in neutral options so energy boost, vomero, triumph, may be up for alley

Softer shoes make it worse! The hundreds of thousands of nerve endings in your feet are actively giving your brain a feedback loop to signal when your body hits the ground. Wearing soft shoes blocks that feedback. It's like trying to play darts with a blindfold on, you're blocking your senses and have no feedback information to use. Get rid of the soft cushioned high heels and let your foot hit the ground relaxed and it'll act like a spring like it's suppose to, absorbing force.

What do you mean? I'm not an exercise scientist so this doesn't make a ton of sense. You talkin barefoot?

Try minimalist shoes like the New Balance MT10v1

even after a metatarsal stress fracture? seems like i would want more to protect it

Absolutely avoid minimal shoes after a MT stress fracture.

The minimalist theory sounds great but doesn't work for most people.

After a calcaneal stress fracture I started wearing Hoka Cliftons. For a couple years Hokas are all I wore (more recently Claytons). I've branched out and last year restarted in NB 1400's. I recently discovered I love Altras, especially the new Escalante. It's springy soft, way too much so with walking. But with running they're about perfect.

Dude said SF. Just type out stress fracture bro.

Sorry man thought people would figure it out. But yeah, that's what I would think too, minimal options aren't in the cards when I start running again. So should I go for a higher cushioned option? I tend to supinate a bit and forefoot/midfoot strike most of the time. I run really bouncy

would love to hear other suggestions. what about hokas? im worried about the low drop though

Having had both metatarsal stress fractures and Achilles trouble I can tell you that soft shoes aren't the answer.

Regarding the metatarsals you just want a shoe that is flexible without forcing you up on your toes. An inflexible shoe that doesn't want to bend with you is an obvious problem. Softness in shoes here can be a sneaky problem. If the forefoot is too soft the balls of your feet (under all toes) will sink into the cushioning. When the balls of your feet sink in like that it exacerbates the bending at the joints on either side of the balls of your feet. This can put more stress on your metatarsals.

With your Achilles you need to come to terms with whether or not your legs can handle minimalist running or not. This is based on how you were raised and your current physiology. If you can't run minimally without calf stress and Achilles trouble, then you need to simply get shoes with reasonable offsets like 10-12mm. Higher offsets lessen the elasticity required from your Achilles. I'm serious that you need to do some self-evaluation on this front and be honest with yourself instead of trying to meet any modern trends that have nothing to do with your individual physiology. On the softness front here you need to know that soft shoes can be a problem for the Achilles. This is for two similar reasons. At impact you sink into the soft cushioning some. This is a problem for two reasons. One, your heel stack height and offset become lower than advertised once you sink. So you'll go flatter than the advertised ratio if the heel is soft, which may demand elasticity from your Achilles you don't have. The second problem is that at impact (especially if you are a heel striker at all) there are major mechanical things happening in your heel to absorb impact and transfer it into forward motion. Your Achilles pulls in one direction while reacting with a force in the other direction. Ideally you want this snap to be quick and efficient. Very soft heel cushioning can extend the duration of the impact and draw out the time where the Achilles is stretching in one direction while preparing to go in the other direction. This makes the vulnerable mechanical moment of change take on more risk in the transition.

I'm not recommending you change to rock hard shoes, but shoes people describe as "responsive" might help you. These are typically shoes with a little bit of a firmer cushion that offer you a tiny amount of give at impact without actually feeling like a pillow or soaking up your impact. You may need to grow a little accustomed to it, but if you give it a chance you'll give your body an opportunity to run lighter and more efficiently by spending less time on the ground during impact periods.

so the nike pegasus and adidas glides that ive been running in should be what i stick with? don't really know what other optins i could have

The Boost might be a good shoe for you.

Yes, probably you shouldn't jump to low offset shoes with achilles problems.

I'm personally a fan of having 2-3 different shoes that I rotate through in a week. I have Altra Escalante, Hoka Clayton, and Ascics Hyperspeed 7 in my road shoe mix right now.

Generally though, the wrong shoes don't cause running problems. People are pretty adaptable, given time, to whatever goes on their feet. The vast majority of injuries are caused from ramping up miles and effort too quickly, regardless of shoes.

So basically the shoes didn't cause the injury so it doesn't matter a ton? I think I just ran to hard on most of my normal runs and it added up over time. All pavement, plus forefoot striking. I feel like that is more the issue than the shoes like you said

Best shoe for 50+ folks like me is easily Nike Lunaracer 4. Frankly I don't like Nike, but this 4th version of the shoe is a homerun: light, lots of shock absorption, but still made for running fast. Most comfortable upper on a shoe, breathable. Fits my average width foot perfectly.

I was looking into the new kinvaras but the only thing that concerns me is the 4mm drop. You guys said the low drop might bother my Achilles, but if I am primarily a forefoot striker, will that really matter?

Bill the pill wrote:

Absolutely avoid minimal shoes after a MT stress fracture.

The minimalist theory sounds great but doesn't work for most people.

After a calcaneal stress fracture I started wearing Hoka Cliftons. For a couple years Hokas are all I wore (more recently Claytons). I've branched out and last year restarted in NB 1400's. I recently discovered I love Altras, especially the new Escalante. It's springy soft, way too much so with walking. But with running they're about perfect.

Smart man. I got the NB 1600 racing flat, one size bigger than usual, simply epic. Got an old guy racing again.

I experience foot pain pretty constantly and have struggled to find shoes that would help me alleviate the pain. Well, i have to say that I have found them. They fit well. They have reduced my heel pain as well as my fasciitis symptoms. I can walk much easier and longer now . So happy I got these shoes! orthofeet do the job!

My daughter even ordered a pair for her clinical training for her medical program as she knew she’d be on her feet a lot. They are super comfy and definitely worth every penny that I payed. Love Orthofeet and I recommend them whenever someone mentions having heel pain. Told all my co-workers about them. Simply LOVE them and will defiantly be buying more!