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(574) 293-8622I grew up in an active family, my younger sister and I loved to play tennis, my dad still plays soccer on the weekends and my mom routinely goes to the gym or exercises at home.
As I said Mom loves to exercise mainly on a treadmill or exercise bike. Don’t get me wrong Mom’s no “super athlete”, but she loves it. She tells us it helps to clear her mind, reduces any stress or anxiety that has built up during her busy day. “Being active just makes me feel good, it keeps me keep sane. It’s pretty simple really”.
I don’t ever really remember a time in my life I didn’t see my mom either sweating it out at home or getting changed into her finest work-out clothes and heading off to our local gym at least a couple of times a week.
About 18 month ago, she had been complaining of a sore foot for 3 or 4 weeks and I’d suggested she try to rest it as much as possible. “Ride the bike rather than running”, but as anyone who has experienced foot pain knows resting your feet is definitely easier said than done.
It was only a couple more weeks before Mom’s foot pain become worse and eventually she was at the point she was walking with a terrible limp and totally unable to move with any pace what so ever. She dreaded those first few agonising steps every morning, or heaven forbid late night limp to the toilet. It was time to see our local GP, to find the best way to help the pain in her foot.
Plantar Fasciitis or tendonitis was the doctor’s diagnoses, Mom was given a referral for a scan to make sure there was no fracture. The scan was inconclusive, but it was suggested that physiotherapy was the best option. Her weekly appointments soon started to not only add up to be a very expensive outing, but more disappointing any positive results were minimal at best.
I could quickly see how badly my mom’s painful foot was effecting her. Her mood had really “crashed” and my sister and I had to make sure we were on our best behaviour around her. My mom was never known to have a temper of any sort, but over this period she was easily annoyed and would often “yell” at my sister or I over trivial matters. This wasn’t the “happy go lucky Mom” I loved and enjoyed spending time with. My mom, sister and I had a “special bond” or “mother, daughter connection” but sadly my sister and I were starting to avoid spending time with Mom.
We needed our “happy & positive” Mom back. We all knew the source of here frustrations was here foot pain and the loss of freedom it had coursed her (she was constantly complaining). I needed to find a solution, something that would allow my mom to get out and about seeing her friends and back to doing what mattered most to her. Rather than being restricted to watching TV on the couch.
I started searching for a solution. Products, creams, shoes, home remedies, anti-inflammatory foods and even surgery were possible solutions. The mass of information out there is often one of the biggest problems, information “overload” that leads to not taking any action. We had to try and see for ourselves what works and what wouldn’t.
I jumped on-line and bought all types of things over a 3 month period ice packs, heat packs, long socks, short socks, straps, supports, wraps, braces, splints, gel pads, creams & innersoles.
Luckily my mom was desperate and open to trying anything at this point. We made sure she gave every possible solution a fair trial period even though for some it was only a day or two. She would experiment wearing items “this way and then that”, in the end we had so many different options as we would try them in a combination one over the top of another or doubling up products on her bad foot.
Many of these items provided some short term comfort but it was not until we tried a set of Plantar Fasciitis Compression Sleeves and Gel Heel Wraps in combination that my mom really felt some relief. I remember seeing the smile on her face as she walked around our kitchen table “Hey, this feels alright” she said. She tried them for a week, which kind of turned into a month and into buying more and not taking them off.
I searched the internet to see if anyone else had results from our technique, but I couldn’t find any evidence of others trying it.
This “miracle kit combination” didn’t fix my mom’s Plantar Fasciitis 100%, but it did reduce her pain significantly and it gave her back the motivation and the hope that over time she would be back enjoying the things she loved. Which at many points must have seemed impossible to her.
Wearing both the Plantar Fasciitis Compression Sleeves & Gel Heel Wraps in combination with her regular “Plantar Fasciitis” exercises which were given to her by the physiotherapist my mom was finally taking a “step” in the right direction.
You might think I’m going to say that “right then and there, Armstrong Amerika was born”.. Well that’s not really the case, over the next few months mom started to share our discovery with her friends and other family members. And often they would ask “so where do I buy these socks and rubber things”. The result being I would get a message from mom relaying the question asking where they could buy both items.
In the time spent searching for a solution it was very clear that pain in general is effecting 100’s of millions of people, I saw firsthand how much it totally changed my mom physically and mentally over a 12 month period. Seeing the positive impact a small inexpensive product could have on my mom I knew “then and there… well a few months later” I needed to share our story with the wider community not just friends and family.
In 2015 I created Armstrong Amerika with my partner “boyfriend” Matt. Our only focus is to help you get back to doing the activities that matter to you most. Allowing you to “Experience Life, Not Pain”. As such we look to provide you with as much help, advise and actionable free content as we can. If we can give you tips and knowledge to get you pain free, rather than sell you a product we will do that every time.
It reminds me that every one of our customers is in a similar situation my mom was in, simply someone looking for help.
The positive feedback from our customers, reminds me of that day in our kitchen and the smile on my mom’s face. Our work is definitely worthwhile, and as we expand we look forward to helping everyone who suffers from any form of physical pain.
“Because You should Experience Life, Not Pain”
Kind Regards,
Ana
Co-Founder