“The barefoot walk” event – part of “Take your legs in your legs proactively” campaign
Take your legs in your hands – proactively ” (in Bulgarian this is a “word play” – meaning an appeal to undertake a “hands on” approach to the benefit of your legs. The phrase became viral and like an idiom for the campaign) is a national campaign that informs the public about chronic venous disease. The condition is affecting an increasing proportion of young people and middle-aged people, especially in the pandemic, when movement declined. The peak event, culmination of the campaign, is called “The barefoot walk” and is an already traditional happening open-air in Sofia capital City, for the 2nd year-in-a-row.
The main goal of the event is to raise public awareness of the symptoms, methods of prevention and treatment of chronic venous disease (CVD). According to a large global study, CVD affects more than 50% of people, with women suffering twice as much as men due to hormonal imbalances and physiological changes during pregnancy. Everyone who stays or works in the same position for a long time is endangered. Among the risk factors are heredity, obesity, alcohol abuse, etc. The trend shows that more and more people are affected by CVD, but do not take timely measures. Therefore we took to heart the mission of spreading awareness about the condition, urging people to pay attention to their symptoms and lead a more active lifestyle. In order to achieve that we held the “The barefoot walk” as a meeting point for all initiatives.