I
n the last 35 years as a practicing pedorthist I have personally made over 20,000
custom foot orthotics. Not one pair of these orthotics required a prescription, was
paid for by insurance, and 100% of all my customer/patients walked away satisfied!
How you may ask could I have created such a successful practice and business in
pedorthics without accepting insurance?
I would like to share my thoughts, opinions and successes of
many years in a profession, just to call it pedorthics, would be
limiting. I have discovered it to be much more diverse. All of us
started in this industry for various reasons. I began in ski retails
during the early 70’s selling skis and fitting ski boots. Successfully
getting a ski boot to fit with no discomfort in those days was a real
test of skill and patience.
In the process of fitting ski boots, I learned the words lateral,
medial, pronation, supination and how to “blow out” a ski boot
shell if it wasn’t wide enough. While attending a boot fit clinic
hosted by one of the ski industry gurus at that time, he used me
as an example by asking me to take off my shoes and socks. “You
have a Morton’s toe! The long second toe and corresponding
shape of the met heads create an unstable forefoot. You try to put
pressure on your inside edge and your foot collapses. If we build
you a device that supports your arch and firms up your forefoot,
you will be more comfortable and ski better.” WOW! For the first
time, I realized the direct connection between foot support and
an increase in performance which would prove to be the basis of
my “pedorthic thinking” for the next 30 years.
While in the ski business during the 80’s, my ski retail operation
grew to three locations in mid-Michigan. During that time
several “custom insole” products were marketed to the ski
industry. My success was based on the ability to custom fit a ski
boot using very primitive methods. As my business grew, the best
racers and ski instructors in the Midwest began using my custom
insoles. I raised two junior Olympian ski racers, which gave me
my own testing lab close to home.
Companies providing custom insole systems to the ski industry at
this time, produced marginal products and their processes were
not user friendly. Consequently, I developed my own system. I
wondered, couldn’t you mold the heated thermal plastic directly
to the customer? I quickly learned why orthotic labs used plaster
positives. Polypropylene and their derivatives heated at 400 plus
degrees. In collaboration with Wayne State University, a resin
was developed producing an extruded plastic that heated at 250
degrees and provided excellent support when molded. Next, I
found a small manufacturer with a very unique memory foam
which evolved into today’s “TemperFoam.”
With this new technology in place, my new system lead to my
first patent for Direct Mold Technology. This process enabled
me to custom fit a ski boot customer in minutes, and my success
continued in the ski industry as more than one satisfied customer
asked, “Can you make something for my tennis shoes?” I
thought to myself, “that is an ORTHOTIC”, I better get further
knowledge.
Many of us long practicing pedorthists will remember the early
years of the PFA when it was originally called the Prescription
Footwear Association. It was through one of their programs at
Ball State University that I learned about prescription footwear.
Living in a non-air-conditioned dorm room for a week I
discovered I was learning very little about foot orthotics. Everyone
in the class was from either a prescription shoe store, an O & P
lab, or a diabetic clinic. Consequently, they worked solely with
problem feet.
There was a positive side to my Ball State educational
experience. With a background in ski retail, I recognized my
customer base was healthy, had expendable income and wanted
to be more comfortable in all of their leisure activities. This
realization helped determine the future direction of my business.
I decided to leave the ‘problem feet’ of the world to those other
individuals in my class who specialized in these areas. I would
focus on a population geared towards fitness, athletics and a
healthier lifestyle, who were willing to do anything to stay that
way.
This alternative thinking required an unwavering belief that every
individual will benefit from proper foot support. Regardless of the
business model you may have, you can open a whole new market
of potential business using pedorthics and orthotics beyond your
insurance based patient/customers. The initial interest of many of
my accounts in the US and Canada, was due to our success with
athletes and our philosophy of preventing injury.
Thinking Beyond the Accepted
Practice Norms
My company works with many of the major university athletic
programs, using our Fastech System to fit athletes as injury
prevention. Studies show a female athlete has a ten times greater
chance of injuring an ACL than a male athlete. Pressure to the
ACL because of the Q-Angle and a pronated foot are primary
factors.
You cannot change the Q-Angle but you can support the
pronated foot. Studies show that 70% of all ACL injuries are
“non-contact.” In reality, the foot going into pronation is a
contributor to the events that injure the knee. Large NCAA
Current Pedorthics
September/October
2014
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