Bilateral foot pain for 8 months — at my wit’s end with shoes. Anyone else dealt with this?
I’m a 24 y/o male, 70kg, student in Germany. Looking for advice from people who’ve actually been through this.
The pain:
• Both feet hurt — never just one
• Starts in the heel, then spreads to the side of the arch, then to the forefeet
• Only happens when I’m standing or walking. Sitting fixes it. Elevating my feet fixes it faster.
• No pain at all when I wake up, no pain after sitting, no sharp/stabbing pain
• It builds gradually — sometimes pain starts after 5 minutes of standing, sometimes 20 minutes, sometimes I’m fine for hours
• Pressing on my feet anywhere doesn’t hurt. No tender spots, no swelling, no redness, no tingling, no numbness
• When I am barefoot, only the heel hurts like due to pressure kind of pain, but when in shoes, entire foot hurts (both)
What I’ve ruled out: It’s not classic plantar fasciitis (no morning pain, no point tenderness). My back has disc bulges but the foot pain doesn’t track with my sciatica. Bloodwork is mostly normal except vitamin D was low (I’m 4 weeks into 60,000 IU/week loading dose).
My foot details:
• Length 263mm, width 111mm (so I’m a wide foot — 2E width)
• Normal arches confirmed by wet print test
• I gained 10kg in 5 months last year (60→70kg). Pain started about 6 months after the weight gain.
• Sensitive to arch support — anything that pushes into my arch makes the pain worse and spread faster
What I’ve tried:
• Brooks Ghost Max 2 in 2E width — the only shoe that doesn’t actively make things worse, but doesn’t fix it either
• Hoka Bondi 8 — arch contour causes immediate pain on the inside of my foot
• Sorbothane Full Strike insole — okay but feels like not enough heel cushioning
• Foot strengthening exercises (short foot, toe yoga, towel scrunches) — started recently
• Vitamin D supplementation — ongoing
What I’m asking:
Has anyone had this exact pattern — pain that travels heel → arch → forefoot only when walking in shoes, no morning pain, no tender spots, both feet equally? What ended up working for you?
Since I am not in a position to visit the doctor and appointment takes months and also there are no English speaker podiatrist doctors here, so trying to diagnose and manage on my own
Thank you for reading
Any advice would be really helpful,