Every person's story seems to be different, here's mine... I battled with it for about 2 years about 15 years ago. It started with putting on too many miles running and walking in new shoes and boots after sitting on my butt for too long. For me, stretching my calves was key, especially doing it before I got out of bed and before taking my first steps (gently breaking up that nightly healing). I never had to resort to orthotics, though I considered it at my most desperate moment. Just grit, determination, patience and regular regimen of ice and stretching helped me. Of course a lot of that was also because I had zero dollars at that point in my life and I was way to stubborn to drop $300 on custom orthotics. After the pain went away, I have spent A LOT of time in bare feet and zero drop shoes for my daily activities. I have had ZERO plantar fasciitis since. However, I have had Achilles problems, so I guess you pick your poison. For me, a ruptured Achilles on one side and dull pain in the other was way easier to deal with than daily plantar fasciitis pain. But that also came with putting on too many running miles too fast in zero drop shoes. Bottom line, I think you can avoid insoles if you want but it requires stubbornness/patience. Best of luck to you.