By the age of fourteen I already had serious problems with my feet. I was pigeon toed (walked like a pigeon) so much that I'd trip myself when I ran. My Dad took me to a Podiatrist Dr. Bialow and he made a cast of my foot. It was made out of plaster and clay. It was rigid (didn't flex) and you couldn't get it wet or it would dissolve and flake apart as it aged. After a year they had fallen apart already. My Dad then had another pair made. By the way, this was back in the early 60's. Back then they cost $100 which is about $700 in today's market. The second pair lasted a year. They improved my feet somewhat, but I still was quite pigeon toed.
As a young man I experimented with all kinds of Orthotics. I bought a pair of Orthotic shoes that looked like something "Frankenstein" might wear. They weighed a ton and were very awkward, not to mention ugly. They gave my feet some support and helped me walk better (but I was very self conscious about how funny I walked), and I had to wear them all the time. I couldn't ever change shoes though. I wanted something I could move in and out of my shoes.
From there I went to a metal orthotic. The metal was hot in the summer and cold in the winter, and the metal didn't flex at all. The non-flex of these metal ones was actually unbearable.
I tried good shoes and tennis shoes, Dr scholl's pads, flat orthotics, gel insoles, water insoles any and all the newest "fads' on the market. They all comforted my feet to a degree, my 'imperfect foot' (except those metal ones) but the insoles did very little to correct the way I walked. And now my heels and lower back were aching almost constantly. After years of trying all the over the counter products, and even getting some more new ones made by a Podiatrist Doctor (that again I couldn't adjust to), I just gave up and resigned myself to the pain and my awkward gait.
Then in the 80's I accidentally came across an Orthotic Specialist at a Trade Show. He did a test of my feet and showed me how I was walking, (where the pressure points were) and how my foot was affecting other areas of my body. He put a sample pair orthotics (not made to my feet yet) in my shoes and told me his company had been around since 1948. I thought "How did I miss these, I'd tried everything else on the market?" I put the orthotics in my shoes, and to be honest, right off the bat they were not comfortable at all. He then told me to go walk for 15 minutes and then come back (bear in mind these were just examples not yet made to my feet). I walked for awhile and came back again.
At that point I told him the orthotics were uncomfortable, but not painful or unbearable. It just felt like I had an extra something in my shoe which shouldn't be there or something (it felt odd). When I told him that, he laughed and said that was quite normal to feel that way at first, but it goes away pretty quickly once you adjust. He said the sensation was just the arches of my foot being supported and also that my feet weren't used to such support yet. He then asked me how my heels and lower back felt. I told him that I originally came into his booth limping, as my right heel was killing me and now THE PAIN IN MY HEEL AND BACK WERE GONE!
THE SECRET
Then I asked him "why is that?" He then told me that my foot had actually three arches, not just one: side, middle and front. Ordinary shoes on the market and over-the-counter products only provide a thin side arch and they leave out the other two major arches in the middle of your foot. They don't put those arches in shoes because everyone's middle arches are different and none of the shoes would fit. The technicain then told me there was a wearing schedule to follow with the orthotics. He said I was not to wear the orthotics all day long at first, but to follow the schedule and give my "whole body" a chance to adjust to them; even if they were comfortable right off the bat. He then offered me a 90 day money back guarantee and I had nothing to lose, so I gave it a shot.
To my amazement those original Orthotics lasted me 12 years! My heels quit hurting , my back also quit hurting and the pigeon toed walk corrected itself over time wearing the orthotics.
I was so excited about these Orthotics that I wanted to share the orthotics experience with others too. And so that's what I do now....share the orthotics with others. I have done that now since 1987. From then until now I have seen people with foot problems of all sorts recover also avoid painful needless surgery in many cases. The benefits others have expereinced are just as dramatic.
In fact, I've seen many retired people who are otherwise healthy, not able to enjoy their life because they simply can't walk comfortably. Their feet just hurt too much. I really encourage everyone young and old to invest in yourself and support your whole body with our product, and watch the dramatic changes you'll experience.
