Good nursing shoes for high arches

kiszi, RN · Aug 10, 2010

I have high arches and I love Dansko's. I still have the pair that got me through nursing school and almost 3 years of work on the floor before I left to work home care. I worked 12's, on my feet most of that time, and my feet hardly ever hurt.

RNfaster · Aug 10, 2010

Bastad clogs.

stephmicroscopy · Aug 10, 2010

Try Sanitas; they have great arch support. Even better arch support than Dansko

Good Luck!

hotenok · Aug 10, 2010

I have Zcoils and they are great. They can custom fit them to your arch.

kna226 · Aug 12, 2010

I have extremely high arches. The pain I used to get in my feet, knees and hips was terrible. I got my feet tested at Runner's World and they told me I had abnormally high arches and that I needed shoes with stability (I use Asics) and they "prescribed" me Superfeet Green insoles. Now these are awesome! They feel a bit uncomfortable at first until your feet adjust to them, but you'll notice a difference immediately! They are about $35 and I highly recommend them for people with high arches.

If you have a Runner's World in your area, it would be a good idea to get your feet tested by them. Here's their website: http://www.runnersworld.com/

And here's a link to Superfeet Green: http://www.superfeet.com/store/Green.aspx

Hope this helps! :-)

2011BSN · Dec 10, 2010

Thanks for the info. I have high arches and notice that if I stand on our wooden floors in the kitchen for an hour, my back hurts. Being on my feet for 12 hours will take its toll unless I find the right shoes. I start nursing school in January, so I have to get all white shoes. That might limit my choices, but I've seen so many recommendations for Danskos that I think I'll check them out.

flyingchange · Dec 10, 2010

I have high arches also. I spent my money at a specialty store that served a lot of our area nurses.

I bought these: New Balance 811 | WW811WT

And in them I put these: Softec Response Custom Footbeds | SOLE

I. Love. Them.

After a full day of clinicals my legs, feet, and back are not tired.

2011BSN · Dec 10, 2010

Thanks! The more I research shoes, it looks like the ones that will be best for my feet and back are ones that lace up. I guess I'll have to get over the whole blood-stain thing. Unless you're in the OR or ER, blood probably doesn't tend to spurt all over. I have so much to learn!

flyingchange · Dec 10, 2010

Yes, I have discovered that slip-ons do not have enough clearance and they squish my feet down which hurts after a few hours. Lace ups are better because you can lace them differently to relieve pressure. I found a lot of relief after changing to the straight-across lacing but there are as many ways to lace your shoes as you can imagine :) Shoe Lacing Techniques

Re: stains, I haven't gotten any yet. My scrub pants cover the tops of the shoes anyway.

frenchtoastwaffles, BSN, RN · Aug 2, 2015

Did you find any options that don't hurt without laces? I have to wear all white leather shoes, no laces, no open backs allowed for school. I have a pair oft timberland pro renovas because they were recommended to me for high arches but I haven't even worn them outside of the house and I have bruises on top of my feet from trying to stretch them out!

emmy27 · Aug 6, 2015

I have very high arches and used to always wear shoes with "arch support" and still had terrible pain. After reading the book "Every Woman's Guide to Foot Pain Relief" by Katy Bowman , I transitioned to "barefoot" style shoes (slowly!) and have had much less foot and back pain ever since.

Since your arch is a product of the interactions between the bones and muscles in your feet, and not a fixed structure, wearing arch support all the time is like wearing a brace- it's relieving while you have it on, but it can weaken and exacerbate problems in the braced part over time.