For weeks, she felt nauseous every time she tried to walk. As an athlete, Jessica Savona was used to injuries. As 225 details in a feature in its latest issue, Savona had suffered from shin splints, a torn ACL and plantar fasciitis for years. So when she first tore a ligament in her ankle last December, she thought she could tough it out.
But every day, the swelling got worse.
And then: “I would wake up, and I wouldn’t be able to put pressure on my foot,” she remembers. “There was no movement that wouldn’t put pain on my body.”
For Savona—a senior on LSU’s record-breaking 2016 women’s gymnastics team—not being able to walk was kind of a problem. The injury kept the 21-year-old out of her floor routines for four weeks.
She finally made a triumphant return against Auburn, stunning judges and earning a career high 9.95 score on the floor routine. Today, the recent college grad is doing much better.
She had a little help.
Throughout her recovery, Savona wore the The Healing Sole flip-flop, a shoe designed here in Baton Rouge to ease foot pain. Savona wore the flip-flop after workouts and competitions, and she says it always made her feel better.
The footwear was released last year by local orthopedic surgeon Dr. Meredith Warner.
“Generally speaking, flip-flops are super flimsy, and your toes are always gripping them to hold onto your feet,” Warner says. “I had patient after patient come in and say, ‘My doctor told me I can’t wear flip flops, and that’s really just what I want to wear.’ So I thought, what if I turn it around and make the problem the treatment? Somehow, I really kind of knew it was going to work.”
225 has the full story.
