Recommended fins for diver with bad plantar fasciitis

[Alex Wray]

Do you have this pain when walking in shoes, or mostly when finning? Do you have booties with a soft flexible sole or ones with a thicker, more rigid sole? Have you tried force fins with a rigid soled boot?

I use the ridged sole boot recommended for this issue.

 

[Jcp2]

Is the pain greater when kicking foot backwards or forwards?

 

[Alex Wray]

Is the pain greater when kicking foot backwards or forwards?

there is no difference. Any time the arch moves pain increases. Just the weight of the blankets in my bed pressing down on my toes increase the pain in my arch. The pain is fairly constant. Increases by movement. I wear a compression sock almost constantly. It helps tremendously. I wear them while diving also.

 

[tursiops]

there is no difference. Any time the arch moves pain increases. Just the weight of the blankets in my bed pressing down on my toes increase the pain in my arch. The pain is fairly constant. Increases by movement. I wear a compression sock almost constantly. It helps tremendously. I wear them while diving also.

I'm sorry, but this does not sound like plantar fasciitis, but more like gout or a neuroma. I am NOT an MD....

 

[Alex Wray]

I'm sorry, but this does not sound like plantar fasciitis, but more like gout or a neuroma. I am NOT an MD....

I very well may also have neuroma also, with a long list of other ailments I won’t bore you with, but the arch deal is unfortunately diagnosed by an MD as issues with that plantar and a falling arch. Thanks though I didn’t know about neuroma which I undoubtedly also have.

 

[Jcp2]

You could try force fins because they have a very open foot pocket that puts the pressure of the forward kick on top of the foot rather than allowing the toes to bend downwards with resistance. They are also designed to have less resistance on the backward kick because the fin is designed to give more in that direction. If correctly sized, the open foot pocket allows you to flex your toes upward a lot when kicking forward to offset the fin trying to bend the arch downward.
Pain & Suffering a Thing of the Past – Force Fin
I’m sure any other really open toed fin might have the same benefit; these are the only ones that I’ve tried myself.

 

[Alex Wray]

You could try force fins because they have a very open foot pocket that puts the pressure of the forward kick on top of the foot rather than allowing the toes to bend downwards with resistance. They are also designed to have less resistance on the backward kick because the fin is designed to give more in that direction. If correctly sized, the open foot pocket allows you to flex your toes upward a lot when kicking forward to offset the fin trying to bend the arch downward.
Pain & Suffering a Thing of the Past – Force Fin
I’m sure any other really open toed fin might have the same benefit; these are the only ones that I’ve tried myself.

Thank you for the suggestion. I will look into them.

 

[Jiminy]

If you don't shore dive or dive in extremely cold water you might want to look at full foot fins. They have a pocket for the whole foot which should provide more support. Since you are trying to minimize the strain a lightweight fin would probably be good as well.

If you go with split fins a flutter kick with a shorter stroke and a more rapid tempo is recommended to get the best performance

https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Aquatics-Split-Performance-Black/dp/B0071B9CQY/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3JBIJBSXESXQD&dchild=1&keywords=atomic+full+foot+split+fins&qid=1574094520&sprefix=atomic+full+,aps,214&sr=8-4

 

[Hatul]

You could try force fins because they have a very open foot pocket that puts the pressure of the forward kick on top of the foot rather than allowing the toes to bend downwards with resistance. They are also designed to have less resistance on the backward kick because the fin is designed to give more in that direction. If correctly sized, the open foot pocket allows you to flex your toes upward a lot when kicking forward to offset the fin trying to bend the arch downward.
Pain & Suffering a Thing of the Past – Force Fin
I’m sure any other really open toed fin might have the same benefit; these are the only ones that I’ve tried myself.

I second the suggestion re Force Fins if you have foot issues with other fins. I suggest Force Fins Pro with the bungee strap, they're still the best of the Force Fin line.

 

[Alex Wray]

If you don't shore dive or dive in extremely cold water you might want to look at full foot fins. They have a pocket for the whole foot which should provide more support. Since you are trying to minimize the strain a lightweight fin would probably be good as well.

If you go with split fins a flutter kick with a shorter stroke and a more rapid tempo is recommended to get the best performance

https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Aquatics-Split-Performance-Black/dp/B0071B9CQY/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3JBIJBSXESXQD&dchild=1&keywords=atomic+full+foot+split+fins&qid=1574094520&sprefix=atomic+full+,aps,214&sr=8-4

thank you, that is very helpful as I prefer to frog kick and take my time at a relaxed pace looking for critters, though like most divers I do find myself in high current, difficult dives time to time. Sounds to me that a split fin would not be a good fit for my preferred style.