It’s that time of year again, slipper weather. If you live just a few latitudinal degrees south of the 45th parallel like my sister and I do, you can probably appreciate that when she and her family come over for dinner and a game night, she has a large tote filled with games, dessert, and her slippers.
Although neither of us ever grew up wearing slippers, she obviously adopted the mindset that when a person lives almost closer to the North Pole than the equator, there is no point in one’s feet needlessly feeling like blocks of ice. While slippers definitely help thaw and warm the feet, it is not the only reason to wear them.
Why Wear Slippers? (Clue, It's for More than Warmth)
Before we share with you how to buy great slippers for arch support and plantar fasciitis, it is important to ask and answer the question, “why wear slippers?” Most of us who already wear slippers, would answer that question by saying that it is to stay warm.
Whether due to living in a cold climate or just plain having cold feet, regardless of where you live, slippers go a long way to keeping feet cozy and flesh-colored (unlike one of my children who never wears slippers, rarely wears socks, and has purple feet all winter long while claiming he is fine…).
Slippers Can Provide Protection
Yes, slippers should keep us warm, but they also offer protection. The following is a true story and cautionary tale. A few years ago (okay, probably a decade ago), I took up mixed martial arts which used a lot of kickboxing. This required a lot, and I mean a lot, of footwork and pivoting on the balls of my feet.
About a year into training, the ball of my left foot started to swell and become very tender to the point that it was becoming difficult to walk. It wasn’t long before I was being evaluated medically and getting x-rays.
I wasn’t expecting the x-ray tech to come in, show me my films, and ask, “what IS that?” I stared at what was obviously a foreign object in the ball of my foot. Slightly embarrassed, I admitted that I had absolutely no idea. Had I stepped on something? I shook my head. I had no clue.
Undeterred, the tech urged me to try to figure out with her just WHAT was in there. After looking at the different views we finally came to the conclusion that it was the eye of a sewing needle. She was both impressed and incredulous that it was in there and that this was the first time I knew about it.
I went home that night and told my husband and we tried to figure out how and when this possibly could have happened. It took a bit and then my husband offered, “Do you remember that time when we were first married and you were walking in the living room? You stepped on something, screamed, and fell on the floor crying?” No, as a matter of fact I didn’t.
(I should note that our first apartment was in a hundred-year-old house with carpet that can only be described as vintage at best. I am sure there were sewing needles embedded all over the carpet and I bet the bats were heartily relieved that they couldn’t fly into them.)
Through the mists of my mind a vague memory flitted through of instant, blinding pain and then it mercifully faded away. All my husband and I could figure out was that I must have stepped on a needle and that as I walked forward in my bare, slipperless feet, the needle broke off, leaving the eye in my foot.
Armed with the knowledge that I had the eye of a needle embedded in the ball of my foot, I went to an orthopedic surgeon to see about having it removed. I figured that they would inject my foot with some lidocaine, make a little incision, remove the little metal offender, and stitch me back up. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
The doctor looked me straight in the eye and explained that it was surprisingly more difficult than that. Due to the structure of the foot in that area and its layers of tissue, it would literally be like looking for a needle in a haystack. I think the pun was intended. I debated and declined the surgery and its subsequent six to eight week recovery.
The needle eye continues to reside in my foot.
Slippers Can Provide Stability
Stability for Internal Conditions
Another reason for wearing slippers is to provide stability. This is probably a new concept for most of us. Stability doesn’t usually come to mind when thinking about slippers, but it is actually important for those who need it.
Believe it or not, I have another cautionary tale. My mom, my sister, and I share a common condition of weak ankles. What this means is that one moment I can be walking in a straight line and in a split second I am Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality.
One day, when I was barely thirty, I was walking at the afore-mentioned, hundred-year-old house on some ridiculous platform slides. One of my weak ankles rolled, pulled a Bullock, and down I went. This fall was bad enough to require a trip to an orthopedist.
After the kind doctor evaluated my foot and tested my ankle strength, he looked me straight in the eye (different doctor; same look), and stated, “My grandmother is 85-year old and she has stronger ankles than you.”
Weak ankles, balance issues, advancing age, and other conditions of your foot or body are what I would refer to as an internal need for stability. You have a condition in your body that needs help in order to keep you sure-footed.
Stability for External Conditions
In addition to the need for stability of internal conditions, there can also be the need to be sure-footed with external conditions. This brings me to the third and final cautionary tale of this article. To mix it up a bit, this is my daughter’s story.
Back in 2020, we were looking for a house to buy as we were moving halfway across the country. As often happens, it was requested that we remove our shoes while we toured the house, which meant that we were all walking around in our socks.
It was an older house, but had been beautifully renovated right down to the high gloss flooring. While my husband and I were in one part of the house, our teenage daughter was exploring another section. One footstep and ten stairs later, she was crumpled into a heap on the floor.
My husband and I had no idea this had happened because: 1) we didn’t hear it, and 2) she picked herself up, limped to the car, and didn’t tell us about it until much later. It would be months before we all realized what a number this had done on her neck and back.
Perhaps you are thinking, she could have fallen while wearing street shoes. That’s true, she could have, but it would have been a lot less likely. The perilous mix of her socks and the slippery floors made for a doozy of a fall that she still feels today at different times. In this situation, she needed the external stability of rubber-soled slippers.
Slippers Can Provide Arch Support and Help with Plantar Fasciitis
Even Willy Wonka had compassion for those suffering with plantar fasciitis.
Plantar fasciitis, also called policeman’s heel, is one of the most common causes of heel pain leading to around two million people in the U.S. seeking treatment for it each year. The plantar fascia is a ligament that connects the heel to the front of the foot and lies right underneath the skin. Its purpose is to absorb high stress and strains.
When this ligament gets damaged or overworked, it can lead to inflammation. It is usually most noticeable in the a.m. with stabbing pain saying, “good morning”, but can also rear its miserable head after long periods of standing and sitting.
The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons has a helpful article on their website explaining plantar fasciitis’s causes, symptoms, and treatments (which includes supportive shoes and orthotics), as does The Mayo Clinic.
The need for arch support is partly due to the fact that most of us are walking on surfaces which are man-made rather than natural. We spend much of our running, walking and standing lives on pavement, concrete, tile, laminate, as well as hardwood floors. This is contrasted with terra firma, which is another way of saying land and earth.
Can you remember a time of walking barefoot on moist sand at a beach or playing in loose dirt as a child? Think of the footprints you made. Unless you have flat feet or fallen arches, (which can still benefit from arch support), you could see where the earth filled the void created by your arches. Hard floors in the home are not able to fill the void, but supportive slippers can. And before you offer, “Can’t thick carpet support?”, I would remind you of the eye of the needle.
How to Buy Slippers
We are going to assume that all of the slippers that are being suggested will keep you warm and protected so we are going to focus on stability, arch support, and plantar fasciitis.
Slippers for stability
When looking for slippers for stability, look for ones that have a closed heel and rubber soles. An added bonus is that the slippers, which are suggested here, also provide great arch support. Two wonderful slippers for stability are the Haflinger Guido and the Haflinger GZH. The Sanita Lodge comes in some bright colors and the PowerStep Fusion is a great recovery slipper for men. Finally, OluKai Nohea and OluKai Ku'Una for women and the OluKai Moloa for men, stabilize your feet in colors that will make you think of sand, sunsets, and ocean waves.
Slippers for arch support and plantar fasciitis
There is a large overlap between the two lists of slippers for arch support and plantar fasciitis so they will be treated as one list with groupings of good, better, and best supportive slippers. PF will be listed after the slipper if it is also good for plantar fasciitis.
Best Supportive Slippers
The Best Supportive Slipper on our list is the Haflinger GZ Clog (PF).
Better Supportive Slippers
Birkenstock makes some great supportive slippers: the Birkenstock Zermatt Shearling, the Birkenstock Boston Shearling, and the Birkenstock Arizona Shearling. Haflinger provides very good support with their Haflinger Skane (PF) and Haflinger AT Slipper (PF)
Good Supportive Slippers
For those who still need support, but perhaps a little less than the others listed is the Haflinger AS Slipper
That about covers it for this winter. Stay, not only warm, but protected, supported, and sure-footed this season!
Written by: Jennifer Kribs
Contributed and Reviewed by: Troy Dempsey, Certified Pedorthist, C.Ped.