In my opinion the problem may lie in the distance and not the shoes. I advocate never walking far enough to cause pain. It may take months or even a couple years to build up to the distances you like, but in the end it's possible to walk injury free.

In general, I recommend not trying to walk quickly. Speed comes naturally when the body is ready and the brain has learned how to safely walk faster.

My pain management opinion is to turn the mechanics of walking over to the subconscious. Inform the subconscious you want to walk without pain. Part of the deal is to stop for the day at the first signs of pain in critical areas.

I suggest getting a pedometer like the Fitbit Zip. I've found steps count the same whether walked around the house or walked on the trail. Steps around the house seem to be a bit more strenuous because of added time on the feet.

The simple method is to limit yourself to the steps per day that doesn't cause pain over a seven day period. If you are planning a hike, limit your random steps so you don't exceed the daily average mileage by much. I suggest taking a day or two off if something starts to hurt -- even a 1/10 pain level.

This sounds extreme, and it is extreme when compared to most opinions I read. The reward after about 2,000 miles, yes, 2,000 miles, is a walking system that can walk many miles with no pain or fatigue.

The reason it takes so long is different areas of the walking system will start to hurt a bit as different distance plateaus are achieved. The Achilles tendon is an "early mile" injury. It can also be devastating if allowed to get worse.

Later, you may experience other problems. My progression of minor pain was a tender heel, minor knee issues and what I'll call non-specific tired foot syndrome. In each case, I reduced the miles, took some time off and approached the previous mileage cautiously. Eventually, the pains stopped occurring and I was able to increase my mileage.

If a doctor recommends medication, I would stop walking while taking it. When the pain disappears, then you can start walking again beginning with low miles. If you mask an injury with medication, you are likely to make it worse.

Another issue may be wearing the hiking boots only when hiking on the weekend. There are many micro-muscles in the walking system which develop specifically for the footwear you wear most of the time.

It may be impossible to walk many miles without injury if you don't wear the same shoes all the time. The reason is the muscles develop differently for different types of shoes. The development for a soft midsole shoe may be the opposite of that needed for a hard midsole shoe.

There is absolutely zero research on walking without pain and there is zero research on walking normally. All the research is directed at people with problems caused by age or injury. There is little research on the proper type of footwear. My opinion is that if the footwear leaves enough room for the toes and it doesn't cause any obvious issues from pressure points, it will work. The differences will be in efficiency.

Walking without pain requires almost daily walking with time off for slight pains, general fatigue or a need for more sleep. The micro-muscles in the walking system start to atrophy after a few days.