Best Kids’ Shoes for Plantar Fasciitis and Heel Pain – Stay Away from Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour!

March 29, 2023 Shoes for Heel Pain Juan Valenzuela 16 - Comments

Has your child been complaining about heel pain? Is your child walking or running differently? Along with varied orthopedic conditions, children’s foot problems often relate to the shoes on their feet and how they fit. The best kids’ shoes for plantar fasciitis and heel pain provide targeted cushion and support right below the heels. They should also provide firm heel counters.

Most parents of children with plantar fasciitis worry about their kids’ heel pain. No parent wants to see their kids in pain, and in certain cases, the pain is so severe that it leads children to drop off activities and sports. I have certain shoes in mind that will support your child’s heels and help prevent pain.

My Experience Fitting Shoes for Children with Heel Pain

I have helped hundreds of children who were dealing with heel pain find the correct pair of shoes, and I can help your child too. I have been working for a specialized children’s shoe store for the last 10 years, helping children with foot and leg issues. Over the years I noticed how certain shoes are a lot more effective in helping treat and prevent heel pain.

Why Do Your Child’s Heels Hurt?

The most common causes of heel pain in children are plantar fasciitis and sever’s disease.

➡️ Plantar fasciitis is often an overuse injury that is usually present in children who are involved in sports or high-impact activities. It also may trace back to abnormal foot mechanics or poor footwear choices.

➡️ Sever’s disease is also a disease of overuse, most often caused by playing sports or any activity that involves a lot of heel motion or impact.

Is Plantar Fasciitis Similar to Sever’s Disease?

With plantar fasciitis, the pain is mostly felt at the beginning of the activity and then it goes away, while with Sever’s disease, the pain intensifies with activity. Something so simple as providing your child with the correct type of shoes can significantly reduce, or fully eliminate your child’s heel pain.

What Brands of Shoes Are Good for Plantar Fasciitis?

Certain shoe brands are more consistent when it comes to manufacturing supportive and high-quality shoes for kids. My go-to shoe brands for children with heel pain are:

✅ New Balance

✅ Asics

✅ Saucony

This doesn’t mean that all shoes from New Balance, Saucony, and Asics are going to be effective in treating and preventing your child’s heel pain. Certain styles are more effective than others.

Shoe Brands You Must Stay Away From

These shoe brands manufacture kids’ shoes that don’t provide extra heel or ankle support:

❌ Under Armour

❌ Nike

❌ Adidas

❌ Reebok

All of these shoe brands manufacture shoes that are too flimsy and unsupportive.

Is Plantar Fasciitis Common in Kids?

In my experience, heel pain in children is common and this is simply because of the very nature of their growing feet. In children, the heel bone is not yet fully developed until age 14 or older.

The fact that heel pain is common in children doesn’t mean that it should be left untreated. I always advise parents to not take the “wait and see approach” when it comes to treating their children’s foot conditions, as this can only lead to the condition getting worse. The earlier you start treating your child’s foot conditions the sooner your child will stop experiencing pain.

What Shoes Work Best for Heel Pain?

Shoes that provide firm heel counters with extra padding and cushion right below the heels are ideal for children who are suffering from heel pain. For example, let me show you the difference in heel support between a shoe made by New Balance compared to a shoe made by Nike.

kids'-shoes-with-targeted-heel-support

In addition, if you press on the heel counter of the shoe, you will notice how must Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour shoes tend to be too soft and too flimsy. Below you can visualize where the heel counter of the shoe is located:

children's-shoes-with-heel-support

What Happens if Plantar Fasciitis is Left Untreated?

Plantar fasciitis will usually resolve by itself without treatment. People can speed up recovery and relieve pain with specific foot and calf stretches and exercises. For some people, plantar fasciitis becomes a chronic condition.

If left untreated, plantar fasciitis may become a chronic condition and can lead to your child experiencing general foot, knee, hip and back problems due to the way pain impacts normal walking patterns. When children experience heel pain they might change their walking gait to prevent putting too much pressure on their heels. The issue with this is that it leads children to put pressure on areas of their feet where they are not supposed to, and this usually leads to foot, knee, leg, and lower back pain.

Shoes that come with shoelaces instead of velcro closure are always more effective in treating heel pain. Shoelaces help protect and support the child’s heels by pushing them against the back of the shoes.

Best Shoes for Kids with Plantar Fasciitis and Heel Pain

The shoes I recommend below can fit children with medium (M), wide (W), or extra wide (XW) feet.  Disclosure: Some links in this post may be affiliate links and we may receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you) when you click our links and make purchases.

Little Kid Shoe Sizes (10.5 to 3)

  • Available in medium and wide widths
  • Lace-up closure
  • Fresh Foam midsole cushioning is precision engineered to deliver an ultra-cushioned, lightweight ride
  • Ultra Heel design hugs the back of the foot for a snug, supportive fit
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Available in medium, wide, and extra wide widths
  • Lace-up closure
  • Fresh Foam midsole cushioning is precision engineered to deliver an ultra-cushioned, lightweight ride
  • Ultra Heel design hugs the back of the foot for a snug, supportive fit
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Order the shoe style Axon by Saucony on Zappos
  • Available in medium and wide widths
  • EVA midsole provides increased shock attenuation, responsive cushioning and lasting durability
  • Cushioned footbed
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Order the shoe style Axon by Saucony on Zappos
  • Available in medium and wide widths
  • EVA midsole provides increased shock attenuation, responsive cushioning and lasting durability
  • Padded tongue and collar
  • Cushioned footbed
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Order the shoe style Fresh Foam X 860 V13 by New Balance on Amazon
  • Available in medium and wide widths
  • Lace-up closure
  • Dual-layer midsole construction featuring top-bed foam cushioning and underfoot Fresh Foam X
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Order the shoe style Fresh Foam X 860 V13 by New Balance on Amazon
  • Available in medium and wide widths
  • Lace-up closure
  • Fresh Foam midsole cushioning is precision engineered to deliver an ultra-cushioned, lightweight ride 
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Available in medium, wide, and extra wide widths (fits high insteps)
  • Lace-up closure
  • Dual-layer midsole construction featuring top-bed foam cushioning and underfoot Fresh Foam X
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Available in medium and wide widths
  • Lace-up closure
  • Strong rubber outsole and cushioned midsoles
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Order the shoe style TR14 LTT  by Saucony on Zappos
  • Available in medium and wide widths
  • Lace-up closure
  • Foam padding placed around your ankle collar and under the tongue for an incredibly comfortable fit and feel
  • Comfort sockliner molds to your foot with padding in the heel for ultimate cushioning at heel-strike
  • Engineered mesh for structure, stretch and enhanced breathability
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Order the shoe style Cohesion TR14 LTT by Saucony on Zappos
  • Available in medium and wide widths
  • Lace-up closure
  • Foam padding placed around your ankle collar and under the tongue for an incredibly comfortable fit and feel
  • Comfort sockliner molds to your foot with padding in the heel for ultimate cushioning at heel-strike
  • Engineered mesh for structure, stretch and enhanced breathability
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a half size larger than your child’s current foot size

Big Kid Shoe Sizes (3.5 to 7)

  • Available in medium and wide widths
  • Lace-up closure
  • Fresh Foam midsole cushioning is precision engineered to deliver an ultra-cushioned, lightweight ride
  • Ultra Heel design hugs the back of the foot for a snug, supportive fit
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Available in medium, wide, and extra wide widths
  • Lace-up closure
  • Fresh Foam midsole cushioning is precision engineered to deliver an ultra-cushioned, lightweight ride
  • Ultra Heel design hugs the back of the foot for a snug, supportive fit
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Order the shoe style Kinvara by Saucony on Zappos
  • Available in medium and wide widths
  • EVA midsole provides increased shock attenuation, responsive cushioning and lasting durability
  • Padded tongue and collar
  • Cushioned footbed
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Order the shoe style Kinvara by Saucony on Zappos
  • Available in medium and wide widths
  • Foam padding placed around your ankle collar and under the tongue for an incredibly comfortable fit and feel
  • Comfort sockliner molds to your foot with padding in the heel for ultimate cushioning at heel-strike
  • Engineered mesh for structure, stretch and enhanced breathability
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Available in medium, wide, and extra wide widths (fits high insteps)
  • Lace-up closure
  • Dual-layer midsole construction featuring top-bed foam cushioning and underfoot Fresh Foam X
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Available in medium, wide, and extra wide widths
  • Lace-up closure
  • Fresh Foam midsole cushioning is precision engineered to deliver an ultra-cushioned, lightweight ride
  • Ultra Heel design hugs the back of the foot for a snug, supportive fit
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Available in medium and wide widths (fits high insteps)
  • Lightweight EVA foam cushioning in the midsole and padded heel increases comfort
  • Firm heel counter
  • Supportive heel for active kids
  • Breathable mesh upper
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Available in medium and wide widths (fits high insteps)
  • Lace-up closure
  • Dual-layer midsole construction featuring top-bed foam cushioning and underfoot Fresh Foam X
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Order the shoe style Kinvara 14 by Saucony on Amazon
  • Available in medium and wide widths
  • Lace-up closure
  • Lightweight mesh upper
  • Fresh Foam midsole cushioning is precision engineered to deliver an ultra-cushioned, lightweight ride
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Order the shoe style Arishi Fresh Foam by New Balance on Amazon
  • Available in medium, wide, and extra wide widths (fits high insteps)
  • Fresh Foam midsole cushioning is precision engineered to deliver an ultra-cushioned, lightweight ride
  • Lightweight mesh upper
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Order the shoe style Axon by Saucony on Zappos
  • Available in medium and wide widths
  • EVA midsole provides increased shock attenuation, responsive cushioning and lasting durability
  • Cushioned footbed
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size

These shoes have proven to be the most effective ones for children with heel pain and they should significantly reduce or fully eliminate your child’s heel pain.

Does Your Child Have Narrow Feet?

There is a different resource I created that has a list of narrow supportive shoes for kids with heel pain.

How to Retrieve Your Child’s Exact Foot Length and Shape

I created a virtual shoe fitting service that will help you retrieve your child’s shoe size from home.

Get in Touch for a Personalized Suggestion

Without a doubt, children’s shoe needs can vary depending on their age, activity level, and any specific foot conditions they may have. If you have any questions or need any further assistance, you can also contact me via email and I will get back to you as soon as possible. I am happy to help you find a different pair of shoes to prevent heel pain so don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

If after trying the shoes I recommend your child’s heel pain persists, then I suggest that you try a heel cup inside of the shoes for extra support. I have fitted one specific heel cup that is the #1 Podiatrist recommended heel cup in the world. This heel cup will help treat and prevent your child’s heel pain.

  • Ideal to treat and prevent general heel pain, plantar fasciitis, Sever’s disease, excessive pronation, Achilles tendonitis
  • Innovative multi-cell, multi-layer waffle pattern design, helps to absorb impact pressure (shock) and return impact energy back to the feet
  • The extra cushion this heel cup includes reduces and prevents sore heels and shin splints
  • Small Size – Fits from a little kid shoe size 10.5 to a big kid shoe size 6. Best for children under 80 lbs.
  • Regular Size – Fits big kid shoe size 6 and above. Weight up to 175 lbs.
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How to Lace Shoes for Kids with Heel Pain? – The Most Effective Way!

I came up with the most effective way to lace shoes for kids with heel pain. This shoe-tying technique is effective in hugging the child’s feet and allows the child to get the most support out of the shoes. You can learn more about this shoe lacing technique in a different article I wrote.

Can My Child Play Sports with Heel Pain?

When children experience heel pain it is recommended that they rest the heel as much as possible. However, for some children, this is simply not an option. Children can continue to play sports as long as they are wearing cleats/sports shoes that protect and support their heels. It is also recommended that they wear heel cups inside of the shoes for extra support.

Some of the most common sports in which children experience heel pain are soccer, basketball, and football.

Don’t hesitate to leave me a comment in the comments section below if you have any further questions or concerns about your child’s heel pain.