I've always wondered that if you play the long game, what kinds of shoes should you wear? I read people in countries that go barefoot don't have foot problems. Should you wear heavily padded shoes or run in low-heel or minimalist shoes?
And then throw them away after 500 miles and get a new pair.
I have a suspicion that a big part of the reason that people are feeling better running in Hokas is that they waited too long to replace their last pair of shoes, and literally anything would have been an improvement by the time they switched.
And I say this as someone who recently switched to Hokas. They’re fine.
I did that and I even paid extra for the "running assessment" that they were offering to those interested in running the Berlin marathon. It took me ca. 4 years to recover from the damage those shoes did to my knees.
I would say "go to a doctor", but the first one I visited just googled "running shoes" on his computer and told me to get something like that. At least the second one actually knew what he was doing.
My point being: I would suggest everyone to try really hard to get a good recommendation instead of trusting someone blindly.
The second doctor told me to rip the insoles and replace them with some orthopedic, custom-made ones (my insurance covers a pair or two a year) and also prescribed me some knee pads with metal rods on the sides that I must wear whenever I run. He also sent me to physiotherapy for a month where I learned exercises to strengthen the knee and core muscles. Whenever my knees start to hurt (typically after not exercising for a while) these exercises make it go away.
Sounds like pes planus aka flat foot. Yes, run of the mill Adidas would do nothing, you need a shoe with a good side support and custom insoles.
Doesn't happen in Hokas, at all. They basically allow me to run as much as I can, or have multiple-hour walks almost every evening. Another good ones, for me just for walking, are La Sportiva Raptor - seemingly one of few manufacturers that caters to sporty people with wide feet.
I've heard Pose Running is another good system.
Good luck!!
Take the transition very slow, or you will possibly injure yourself and then say "barefoot running/walking wrecked my feet/knees...".