I'll never forget the morning I could barely put weight on my heel getting out of bed.
I'd been dealing with sharp, stabbing pain with my first few steps every single morning. By the end of the day, it turned into burning and tingling that made it hard to focus on anything else. I was managing okay, but 'okay' meant planning my day around my feet instead of just living it.
I tried thick cushioned socks, gel insoles, stretching routines, over-the-counter inserts. Some took the edge off. None of it addressed what was actually happening — poor circulation to the exact spots where the pain was building.
This wasn't supposed to be my new normal. I wasn't asking for a miracle, I just wanted to walk to the kitchen without wincing.
Then I found out what was actually missing: nothing I owned was built with graduated compression targeted at the arch, heel, and ball of the foot. It was all just padding.