FootBalance to Debut New Kiosk Molding Stations

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Press Release:
FootBalance to Debut New Kiosk Molding Stations

 

Q) Do you pronate? I'll have a look

Now stand in front of the mirror on this purpose built pedestal that holds a camera that is linked to this lap top and [just in case you think my eyes are broken and I will tell you lies then, BTW computers always tell the truth you know :dizzy:]. I'll show you a picture of your feet with a vertical red line as a baseline vertical. Hooray

The more skeptical customer says 'well how do you know what my feet do when i'm walking or running' bing! ah well you see we look at the computer screen while your knees are flexed while your standing and this replicates your foot position when loaded in midstance during activities Hurummph!:santa2:

A) Ah see the tilted foot? yeah? Yeah, knees bend - foot rolls in, simples! Well anyway the computer says yes you do pronate. igs: (we need a head in hands emoticon here!!)

So you need a custome moulded orthotic. Here I'll just take this very compliant thin plastic blank and heat it up to just above room temperature. Now stand on it in a soft foam cushion that will hold your foot in a neutral/vertical position (allegedly) and hey presto you have a fully custom orthotic that will keep your foot near to the vertical and so resolve all your biomechanical problems. :bang:

What a load of tosh! I've checked it out and in my opinion its a waste of time for any serious podiatrist unless your just looking for enhanced over the counter sales.

Regards Dave Smith

 

Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the pronati -ist of them all? I have seen this bit of kit in action and it is a triumph of marketing hype over science. The promotional material is full of anachronisms such as 'over pronation' 're aligning the foot' and 'right and wrong' foot positions. Still it's not the first of this type of thing and I don't suppose it will be the last.

Cheers

Tim

 

What does quiet bipedal stance on a horizontal solid surface have to do the with dynamic forces acting on a skier in a turn? Nothing. When skis are on their inside edges in a turn there will always be an eversion moment of force on the inside ski of the turn and an inversion moment of force on the outside ski of a turn. What does trying to stabilize the STJ in neutral do? It predisposes the skier to serious knee and other injuries on the outside lower limb of the turn. Anyone with grade 8 level science can show this with a simple free body diagram. It doesn't really matter what the background is of the person or company that does this.

 

David you left out the "And that will be £1,800 please" Ker-Ching :bash:

Regards
David W

 

Yes quite, take your iPhone (other smart phones are available) download an app that allows you draw lines on photos, buy a foot moulding cushion from Algeos and some low temp thermoplastic blanks and hey Presto you have the same system for £50 and the thermoplastic blanks being much stiffer will actually do something. Now whether that something is a good thing is down to the skill of the person doing the prescribing and fitting, which is where the difference is made.

 

I have a Sweat Shop close by with one of these systems (Meadowhall Sheffield) and I am seeing a lot of bady prescribed Foot Balance insoles coming into clinic. Sweat Shop seem to be selling these to pretty much everyone who goes in for running shoes - cost £45! The sales pitch seems to be if the shoe does not seem to be holding your heel vertical from the camera placed behind you then you need to have one of these insoles.

I have even had a patient whose GP suggested they go there for some insoles, the Footbalance did not help. (Letter to GP dispatched after consultation and treatment plan). I think that if prescribed this many orthoses incorrectly I would be close to being investigated by HCPC! I suppose Sweat Shop can get away with it as the people carrying out the 'assessment' and making up these insoles are not qualified in anything so perfectly able to do the job.

Anyone else coming across this?

Colin Papworth

 

Sports shops in general, but especially specialty sports shops, typically make far better markup and net profits on custom insoles than they net on a product sale. For example if the net profit is X pounds on a running shoe the store will net 2 or 3 x pounds on the insole. This is why one of the first things you will run into when you enter a shop is the custom insole machine. The sales agent will press every customer to purchase custom insoles with the footwear. Many will claim that the footwear is next to useless without custom insoles. When I was in a sports shop yesterday the sales agent was pressing the mother of what appeared to be a 4 or 5 year old to buy custom insoles for the child's new ski boots to optimize the child's alignment (alignment of what?). The pitch was that the custom insole would make it much easier for the child to ski. I have friends who went to buy jogging shoes and were told in grim terms "Your feet pronate. You need insoles to correct this. You should have a pair of custom insoles in all your shoes".