This Little Piggie . . .

I suffer from Plantar Fasciitis. I only recently realized what my symptoms where a product of, so it made perfect sense why my Earth Shoes are such a life-saver for me . . . maybe literally.

In case you are unaware, my mom passed away in September. She had Alzheimer's, & although it highly contributed to her death, what actually took her life was that her feet literally DIED.

She had worked at a local high-end department store for about 40 years & managed their she-she-foo-foo clothing department. And as such, she had to dress the part everyday ~ high-fashion clothes & high heels 8-10 hours a day, everyday. And she paid for it with her life.

I, too, worked retail at the same chain of stores (Revlon & Clinique make up artist) for many years in my teens & twenties &, 2 years ago I went back to work outside the home (b/c of my husband's lay-off) in a health food store, at which I am on my feet all day.

A few years ago, I began to notice that my feet would hurt when I got up in the morning & whenever I sat down for a while. Nothing terrible, but it would take 4-5 steps to "work out the kinks" & then the pain would go away & all would be well. Last year, I discovered that Anne Kalso Earth Shoe were again being sold in the U.S.A. & I was thrilled. I wore them in my teens & early 20's until they disappeared from the scene. After that, I wore Birkenstocks, which I also REALLY like. But when I got my 1st pair of Earth Shoes after so many years, the negative heel simply did wonders for my foot pain.

I recently found out that my foot pain is a condition called Plantar Fasciitis ~ generally caused by high arches (check), walking or standing for long periods of time (check), tight Achilles Tendons (check) &/or packing on some excess weight (gulp), common in middle-aged people ( :-/ ) . . . with the tale-tell signature symptom being "Most people with plantar fasciitis have pain when they take their first steps after they get out of bed or sit for a long time. You may have less stiffness and pain after you take a few steps" . . . CHECK!

So, after some research, advice from fellow sufferers & my own experience, here are the 3 things that help me the most:

~before I get out of bed, I flex my feet up as far as I can, count to 10 & do it again about 3 times; plus throughout the day, I press my hands against a wall or desk & press my feet forward

~I faithfully use BAXIL, a liquid Hyalauronic Acid, twice a day (awesome product)

~I wear Kalso Earth Shoes or Birkenstocks almost exclusively. Their negative heel keeps my tendon flexed all through the day. They are not cheap & I have to save to get them, but losing the use of my feet or my life would be far more costly. After what I watched my mom suffer, I don't think I'll ever wear shoes w/over a 1" heel again.

With all that said, I thought you might like to see my sweet summer Earth Shoes called The Rhyme.

My little piggies say, "Ahhh . . . " all the way home!

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><