Seeing patients struggle with the foot disorder led Warner to spend more than five years inventing a shoe to ease plantar fasciitis pain, which studies say affects about 10 percent of the population.... The disorder affects 7 percent of all people over 65, and runners and people who are overweight suffer from it more often.

Painkilling injections can often lead to a rupture of the tendon, Warner said, and in the most common surgery, doctors clip the tendons to relieve heel pain, which can cause the foot’s arch to collapse.

“If you can avoid surgery, you should,” Warner said.

Many patients who have tried The Healing Sole are having fantastic results. The first to try this new treatment option was Dr. Ann Lafranca.

One of the first plantar fasciitis patients to wear The Healing Sole, Dr. Ann Lafranca, tried it in October as soon as Warner received the shoes from the manufacturer.

“I keep my pair right by my bed, and as soon as I get up in the morning, my feet slip into them,” said Lafranca, a Baton Rouge obstetrician-gynecologist.

Lafranca has lived with plantar fasciitis for more than 20 years, developing it during pregnancy.

“It’s worse in the morning. As soon as you get up and put your feet on the floor, for me it always felt like I was walking on sharp rocks or razor blades,” she said.

Physical therapy has helped, but Lafranca has also bought expensive inserts for her shoes to ease the pain from the plantar fasciitis and an additional injury to her forefoot. Staying off her feet isn’t an option.

Before and after work, Lafranca wears The Healing Sole shoes to keep her feet in shape.

Dr. Warner went on to explain her design option because it is widely accepted that people suffering from plantar fasciitis should not wear flip flops.

She focused on creating a flip flop because most patients battling foot problems cannot wear sandals.

“That’s all anyone wants to wear, especially in the South,” she said.

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