AN orthopaedic surgeon from Louisiana has developed a flip-flop that she says can help to cure plantar fasciitis, a painful condition that is the scourge of many an athlete. Dr Meredith Warner previously worked with the US Air Force and was stationed in Afghanistan where she noticed how many of her military colleagues were afflicted by the severe pain of plantar fasciitis.
Caused by inflammation of the plantar fascia, a strong band of tissue (like a ligament) that stretches from your heel to your middle foot bones and acts as a shock-absorber in your foot, plantar fasciitis results in searing heel pain. Around one in ten people are thought to suffer from it at some point during their lives and it is common among athletes and the very active.