After a misdiagnosis, Ronda Taylor spent years enduring severe foot pain. Struggling through each day, she began to lose hope of ever finding a cure… until a surprising — and fashionable! — solution changed everything.
“I was skeptical this would work, but now I’m pain-free for the first time in years!” Ronda
cheers.
Ronda Taylor had only worked half the day when she found herself in tears. “I have to go home. My feet hurt so bad,” the elementary school teacher cried, hobbling to her car. This pain is jeopardizing my career now, she lamented. What am I going to do?
For years, the then-52-year-old Louisiana resident had endured excruciating foot pain, which her rheumatologist had tied to her psoriatic arthritis. Yet, despite taking pain medicine and using frozen ice bottles beneath her feet at night, when Rhonda’s feet hit the floor in the morning, every step was like walking on broken glass.
For weeks, the pain persisted, and Ronda began to wonder if this wasn’t her arthritis after all. What could it be? she worried.
Seeking a second opinion, Ronda found orthopedic surgeon and foot specialist Meredith Warner, M.D., who diagnosed her with plantar fasciitis, inflammation in the foot’s plantar fascia, the band of tissue stretching from the toes to the heel. Ronda learned the condition is common in people who are on their feet often, like she is, or people who have flat feet or high arches.
When discussing treatment options, Ronda was relieved to learn she wouldn’t need costly surgery… but when the doctor presented her with a pair of flip-flops as the solution, Ronda was skeptical. It’s too simple, she thought as she listened to Dr. Warner explain how The Healing Soles Flip Flop ($79, TheHealingSole.com) could be purchased using HSA and FSA funds and would gently help treat her pain by reducing the pressure on her heels while supporting her arches.
“How are they different from the prescription plantar fasciitis insoles you put in shoes?” Ronda asked, and she learned that the flip-flops had a raised toe design that allows the foot to be stretched and strengthened with a rocking motion: a movement insoles typically prevent. Ronda was intrigued. She’d been told by doctors to avoid wearing regular flip-flops, as they could worsen her pain. I like the idea of wearing cute summer shoes that can heal me! she mused.
Hopeful and desperate for relief, Ronda purchased a pair and wore them after work for an hour or two for about seven days. She was heartened to notice that her feet no longer hurt at work…and waking up in the morning no longer felt painful.
Encouraged, Ronda kept slipping the flip-flops on every evening, and within a month her pain was totally gone. “I’m back to enjoying life!” the 57-year-old beams. “I’m pain-free and thrilled!” —Monica Romano
Rather than being a flat flip flop, the sole of our footwear is gently curved. This works with your natural heel-to-toe gait pattern, stretching the muscles of the feet and lower legs while also alleviating tension.
The curve also puts body weight into a better position on the foot and allows for natural offloading of painful areas.
Rocker bottoms are well-known to reduce the stress and strain of standing and walking.
Added arch support does just what the title suggests. It offers essential support to the arch of the foot, the major structure that carries the weight of the body.
Added support helps to offload stress, reduce pain, and improve balance and posture.
The goal of this arch support is to support the tendons responsible for push-off and arch maintenance.
Please note that this arch support is not designed to change anyone’s natural alignment.
The proprietary cutout pattern in the inside portion of the heel allows for optimized cushioning of the sole at that zone only. This flexibility reduces pressure on the heel where many experience the highest degree of pain.
However, a normal heel-strike is possible because the rest of the foot bed has a normal, but giving, structure.
This feature is designed to cushion the pain but eliminate ‘guarding’ when standing or walking.
In our footwear, the metatarsal bar is located just behind and underneath your metatarsal heads near the base of the toes.
The metatarsal bar works with the rocker bottom to lessen stress and strain at the toe joints located within the ‘ball of the foot.’
This helps to offload pressure and relieve pain in the forefoot.
(sometimes called the Cluffy® Wedge)
This raised toe ramp helps to prevent the toes from cramping while also offering a deeper stretch to the muscles and ligaments of the feet.
A raised area under the great toe is only beneficial when combined with a rocker bottom. The addition of the metatarsal bar adds to the power of the flip flop to reduce pain.
Our flip flop is built with a proprietary density of a closed-cell foam that allows the foot muscles and tendons to continue to work but yet provides enough give to allow for the foot to rest a bit.
This material does not break down too quickly like many open cell foams (‘memory-types’).
This material provides excellent structural support to the foot which is more natural and more healthy over time than overly cushioned foot beds.
