I've been dealing with PF since the 90's when I was a delivery driver for Airborne Express. It was my left foot, and probably became an issue from getting out of the van so many times a day. I went to a Podiatrist when it became so bad that I was struggling just to walk.
The Doctor examined my foot and said that I had extremely high arches. When I walked, I was stretching the tendon from the front of my foot the the back, and this became inflamed. The inflammation caused the pain the the ball of my foot that made it feel like hollow glass.
To fix this, I needed to support my arches with inserts that held my arches up. Back then, it was something like a hundred bucks for custom inserts, which I bought. They where uncomfortable at first because they put a lot of pressure under my arches, but fairly quickly, I got used to them and the pain went away.
Since then, I haven't always kept up with buying inserts. I would stop wearing them for whatever reason and be fine for a few years, but then it would happen again. Usually I just bought something from Walmart and that seemed to work. But a few years ago, it got really bad and the Walmart inserts where not helping. I think they where Dr Scholl's, but there might be another brand that they sell there, and I don't remember for sure.
I went to a Podiatrist who told me pretty much the same thing about my arches being extreme and that I needed to support them. He also said that I was "Hefty" and the more I weighed, the worse it was going to be. Another good reason to lose weight.
He suggested Spenco supports instead of paying $2,000 for custom inserts. He said that they are very good, but if they do not work, I could always have custom inserts made later on. The Spenco inserts worked, but seemed to lose their arch and needed to be replaced every six months. I tried Power Step Pinnacle and they work too. I don't know which are better, but I do know that I have to wear something to support my arches every day or I will be in pain.
I tend to wear out a pair of shoes every six months, so now I buy brand new inserts when I buy new shoes. I tried Brooks, Hoka, Nike, NB, and a few other name brands, and paid over $200 for some of them. But they all start to fall apart after a few months. Now I buy Walmart sneakers for less then $30, and they last six months or longer.