If you have plantar fasciitis, you probably know how incredibly painful walking barefoot can be.
But could barefoot walking actually be good for your heel pain?
A recent study indicates that it might be.
Watch the video to learn why and how you can implement barefoot walking to help your plantar fasciitis.
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Walking Barefoot vs. With Shoes For Plantar Fasciitis
A 2023 study in Annals of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine studies the effects of walking barefoot vs. with shoes for plantar fasciitis.
The study had two different groups. One group did a four-week walking program wearing shoes, while the other group did a four-week walking program barefoot.
At the end of four weeks, both groups improved, but the barefoot walking group had greater improvements in pain, function, and quality of life.
The Impact of Walking Patterns
You might wonder why this is, especially when it's incredibly painful to take those first few steps barefoot in the morning or to walk around on hardwood floors.
The reason likely has to do with your habitual walking pattern.
Most people in the modern world wear shoes most of the time. Therefore, they get in the habit of heel striking when walking.
Over time, this can contribute to heel pain, especially during longer walks, faster walks, or running.
When you're barefoot and don't have the cushioning of shoes, it hurts to hit on your heel.
Wearing shoes or orthotics can help reduce the pain, but it's just a band-aid that doesn't fix your walking pattern. It just makes it less uncomfortable to hit your heal.
However, when you take your shoes off and walk in that same heel strike pattern, it becomes uncomfortable to hit your heel on a hard floor.
Benefits of Barefoot Walking
Conversely, when you walk barefoot for four weeks, it's uncomfortable at first. However, you quickly learn that it's painful to hit on your heel.
So, you change your walking pattern, learning to walk differently both in shoes and barefoot.
This means hitting slightly more on the outside of your foot, with more of a forefoot strike than a heel strike, using the arch of your foot to absorb shock rather than all of the weight coming down hard on your heel.
Additionally, barefoot walking allows your big toe to splay out the way it's supposed to instead of being jammed inside a narrow toe box.
This prevents bunions and provides a post to stop excessive pronation.
Choosing the Right Barefoot Shoes
If walking barefoot is good, should you walk barefoot all the time?
Probably not.
We live in a world with hard concrete and hazards such as broken glass or nails.
So, you probably do need to wear shoes most of the time outdoors.
The type of shoes you wear is important though.
Ideally, you want shoes that mimic a natural walking pattern.
Altra Torins
I personally wear Altra Torin running shoes.
While they're not technically barefoot shoes, they have a wide toe box with a fan-shaped forefoot that allows your big toe to post out.
Additionally, they have a zero drop angle from heel to toe to simulate barefoot walking.
ALTRA Men's Torin 7 Road Running Shoe, B...
26% OffXero Barefoot Running Shoes
Xero Shoes are truly barefoot walking and running shoes. As the name implies, they also have a zero drop angle, and they also have a fan-shaped toe box.
You can see from the profile that the Xero Shoes Prio Barefoot Running Shoe has a much thinner sole than the Altra Torin.
This makes it more like barefoot walking, but also offers less cushioning for higher impact activities such as running.
Xero Shoes Men’s Prio Barefoot Athletic ...
18% OffVivobarefoot Primus Lite III
Vivobarefoot also makes minimalist shoes to simulate walking barefoot. The Vivobarefoot Primus Lite III has a thin, breathable sole with a wide, fan-shaped toe box and zero drop.
Vivobarefoot Primus Lite III, Womens Veg...
$105.00 (as of April 27, 2025 12:51 GMT -05:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)Additional Tips for Plantar Fasciitis
Beyond walking barefoot and wearing the right kinds of shoes, exercises can help with plantar fasciitis.
Check out this post on 7 Little-Known Plantar Fasciitis Exercises To Relieve Foot Pain.
However, you want to make sure you're doing the right kind of exercises for your kind of plantar fasciitis, and to make sure that your foot pain is actually plantar fasciitis in the first place.
Additionally, it's important that whatever exercises you do, that you're using the correct technique.
That's why it's particularly important to get help from a skilled physical therapist who has a lot of experience successfully treating plantar fasciitis.
If you live in the St. Louis area and need help to relieve plantar fasciitis so that you can walk barefoot more comfortably, we'd be happy to help you.
Just tap the button below to request an appointment with one of our specialist physical therapists.