Interesting!
I think I have a similar problem: although I find my Birks comfortable
my knee pain seems worse when I wear them a lot

Birks are perfect for me because I have the feet of a cave person: short, fat, square and wide. But because of that I don't see how they could work for everyone!

Birks are my holy grail of shoes. After a long day wearing work shoes, I put on my Birks and my feet just sigh with relief.

I even go on hikes with them on, they're all I wear for house shoes. I never require a break in period for a new pair...I must have a Birk shaped foot LOL.

So sorry for all of you with foot issues, that must be horrible.

I do wear the "narrow" width ones

I also love my Birks and have no issues with them. I have three pairs on the go at the moment, and have "retired" (or should retire) three others. My favourite pair is 20 years old and look AWFUL! I also have three pairs of Mephistos... which I find slightly better for me but only a bit. But my DH, who I gave a pair to for our "leather" anniversary, wore them for a while then was advised to stop by a foot person. Was told they were "terrible" for his feet. Which I didn't get until now, given how much I love them.

So I'm glad you have an answer for your PF, but sorry that your options are narrowing even more.

Agreeing with Greyscale Birks work incredibly well for me too.
Glad you are getting things sorted, unhappy feet are the worst

Wow, amazing! I've had birks for a couple of years. As the strap has stretched, I've had to pop new holes to keep the fit tight enough/stay comfortable. My foot is narrow, but I have high arches. But I spend most of my time barefoot or in barefoot friendly shoes, quite the opposite of the Birkenstock.

My birks are great for me but I know they aren't for everyone. Did you know Vionic sells a removable orthotic? I've seen them on QVC but Zappos sells them, too. I have two pairs of Birks orthotic insoles that allow me to wear things like Converse. I have prescription insoles for my running shoes. I am thinking of trying the Vionic insoles because at $40, they are not a budget killer. Good luck.

My DD is a severe overpronator and was having heel pain (was running for the high school cross country team). I bought her some New Balance running shoes and some Lynco inserts. Pain went away DNS now she always wears the inserts.

Holy cow Shannon I am glad you got that one figured out. Evil suckers...

Revisiting to suggest you ask your doc or a PT how to tape your foot to offer support during this acute pain stage until the inflammation calms a bit. I taped my feet for months when my PF flared when I was a fitness instructor. I also taped them during two different hiking vacations when it flared up. Basically, use 1.5 inch wide white athletic tape and tape longwise from the ball of your foot to your heel. Use three overlapping pieces. Then tape horizontally around your arch, from side to side. Might take four pieces. i bought atletic tape by the case for a year as I taped every day. But it really worked. Google for video how-tos. Good luck.

Nebraskim: DH taped his foot to deal with PF, too, and it really worked. He taped it while he slept, and it helped stretch the muscles out.

On Birks, I guess this is one more reason for me to resist the trend (not that I needed one more reason).

I hear you, Shannon! Just yesterday, I told my mom that my Birk knock offs (wonderful silver White Mountains from DSW) would have to be discarded. I wore them quite a bit this week on vacation, as I did last year on my western trip. They are clearly problematic. The latent PF that I struggle with resurfaced in days, even though I changed into other shoes for my hikes. I noticed that I have to keep my toes flexed up and out to keep them on, even with my wide, high volume foot. By contrast, I could wear my Crocs, with no arch support at all, with perfect comfort.

We'll help you keep finding cute shoes that make the feet happy! Do you following the "Barking Dogs" website?