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Orthotics are like shoes, two pair can look the same but feel completely different on your feet. We are not the cheapest price on the internet nor are we the most expensive, we are somewhat in the middle. What we are is DIFFERENT. Scroll down three paragraphs and you'll see why.
We offer 50 different types of orthotics, because nothing works for everyone 100% of the time. This particular orthotic in our listing here works about 97% of the time. Hi my name is Michael Cohen and I've been making Orthotics since 1987. I have a retail store in Lodi, California where I make Orthotics and sell therapeutic shoes.
My Story: In the early 1980's I had heel pain so bad I could barely stand. I tried all the over the counter products and nothing did any good. I finally had a Doctor make me a pair, these made my heels even worse and now my knees and back were starting to hurt. So out of necessity I had to find a way to fix my feet, because I could barely work they hurt so bad. I did research, went to school and finally found the right combination in an Orthotic to make my feet stop hurting. That's how I ended up doing what I do now from that original foot pain that wouldn't go away.
Here's How Our Orthotics Are Different: Most custom orthotics you will find on the web or in a Doctor's office are hard acrylic, resin, graphite or similar construction. While this is good technology it is old technology. Your foot wants to flex!!! It doesn't want to be held up in one position all the time.
If you break your arm, a cast is put on it to immobilize it and keep it from moving while the bone heals. When you take the cast off, the arm is withered and atrophied compared to the other arm because the muscles, tendons and such have not exercised for three months.
Same is true for a hard orthotic, thefoot gets no exercise because the orthotic is holding it up rather than allowing it to move. There are exceptions to this where surgery has been done and pins have been inserted, where you want the foot to stay still, but most people do not fall into this category.
You also don't want too soft of an orthotic or your orthotic will just mold to your foot defeating the purpose of correction. What your want is semi ridgid. Flexible enough to allow your foot to exercise, and strong enough to reshape your foot to the correct position.
There are many orthotics on the market to choose from. Many people don't know what the difference is one from the next. There is a vast difference from one Orthotic to the next.Two automobiles may look similar but drive completely different. Same holds true for Orthotics, they may look similar but feel completely different on your feet.
Over The Counter Products: Dr Scholl's and Spenco are basically single arches. The little side arch you find in your shoes is basically the same thing. If you weigh more than 100 pounds they are good for about six weeks.
Most people don't realize you have three major arches in your foot., but you never get them in shoes or over the counter products because two people with the same size feet have different arches.
The only way you can support all three arches is to stand on sand. Sand fills up the whole "cup" under your foot and supports your feet and body correctly. So is the solution to put sand in all your shoes? Smile! No you need an Orthotic that is fitted to all three major arches.
Phase Four Orthotic: Not a bad product, but there are several problems with fittings. When you order their product, it's by shoe size not arch size. What you're not told is your shoe size and your arch size are two different things. People with the same size feet have different length arches so you really can't get a correct fit by shoe size.
Another problem I have with their product is there is no store location, you are basically talking to "order takers". Most people I've fitted that couldn't wear them complained about the arch being way too high for them.
The Barefoot or Alznner Orthotic: Actually a pretty good Orthotic and they do have stores you can go to. Phase Four is actually a downgraded copy of the Alznner, but if you bend a Phase Four in half and then bend an Alznner in half you see and feel the quality of the Alznner over the Phase Four.
The Barefoot is the lower line copy of the Alznner. They advertise on TV for $59.95, but when you go into the store they really want to upgrade you to the $229 to $289 Alznner. The Barefoot is only good for about 6 months. The Alznner about 5 years. I actually sold the Alznner in my early years. If it's fitted right it can be a good product.
Be prepared for a long adjustment period when you wear them because the Alznner arch islike the Phase Four....really high. If you go in to one of their stores,try to get the owner to fit you because there is a tendency of their employees to fit people short in my experience.
Custom Molded Orthotic: This is the conventional Orthotic that Doctors usually sell to patients. We can make them but I'm not a big fan of the hard rigid Orthotic. In the first place if you have a bad foot and you do a cast mold of that foot, you now have a perfect copy of a "lousy foot".
Secondly since your foot wants to flex, it doesn't want to be held in one position. Instead, it wants to move around. There are exceptions to this: if you've had major surgery on your feet, many times the only solution is to hold that foot still in its position. But if your feet don't fall in to that category your better off with a flexible Orthotic.
FeatherSpring Orthotic: This company mainly does mail order and large commercial ads in magazines. Last time I checked their prices were around $229. The good thing about this company is they have a refund policy. There are two things I don't like about their product:
One, their orthotic is metal. Metal is hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Two, the heel of their orthotic is flat-across. It doesn't cup your heel, so there is a tendency for your foot to slide in the shoe.
Also, if you can't control the heel, you can't keep the foot from rotating inward or outward. For those of you that wear out your shoes on one side of the other, your heel needs to be cupped to control this kind of wear.
Our Custom "Soft Step" Orthotics are made of surgical nylon. It is Flexible like your foot. It's made to last 10 or 12 years. You can bend it in half and it springs back to it's original position (it has memory). It supports all three major arches (side, middle, and front behind the ball of your foot). It is exclusively our product.
The only place you can get our Custom Orthotic is from us. We have two locations, Lodi, CA, and Valley Springs, Ca. If you look under foot problems in my e-bay store you'll find those problems orthotics help. Our Orthotic is NOT molded to your foot (that would copy the problem!). Instead your foot molds to our Orthotic essentially correcting the problem).
Think about that for a second... Your foot wants to flex and move and not be held in one position. Do your feet feel better walking hard non-flex cement or soft grass? Soft grass flows evenly with your feet, whereas cement is totally flat. That's why the "Soft Flex" Custom Orthotic is what you want, because it compensates for flat surfaces. The height, length and width of the Orthotic is the customizing we do with the orthotic. Once fitted, you can dance, play sports, work and even exercise in the custom "Soft Flex's" too!
(Orthotic Note): If your foot is deformed from birth or a "club foot", our Orthotic is not ideal or correct for you. Instead get a cast mold type of orthotic. Also, if you have had any surgery where pins are inserted [not allowing your foot to move], you also will need to get a cast mold type of orthotic and not our type. Our Orthotic is ideal for all the problems mentioned under "Foot Problems".
Foot Problems: Whether you have a pain in the heel or any part of you foot, orthotics can help. Your feet are your foundation, whatever your feet do, your ankles, knees, hip, back and neck do.
Your feet were never meant to walk on concrete (a hard flat surface, especially for 30 years or more) your feet were built to walk on sand, grass and rough terrain. Orthotics are not just for foot problems its a whole body alignment process.
Testimonials: Here are a few of the many we have on file in my office.
30-Year Pain Gone(see below letter for printed text of this letter)
In 1990 I bought my first pair of Orthotics. My feet had hurt me for 30 years. Once I put the Orthotics in my shoes, my feet never hurt again. I wear them in all of my winter shoes even. They are marvelous and something you'll never regret buying!!
Pueblo Colorado 1999
Heel Spur
I was facing Heel Spur Surgery and had such walking pain that I used to cruise the parking lots in search of closer parking.
Thanks Guys,
Kevin Sheldon Ridgecrest, CA
Kevin informed us he is now walking, jogging, hiking, back-packing, climbing and bike riding again. At the booth while writing this, he wanted us to be sure we knew he was truly happy about his orthotics....!
Lower Back
I had lower back pain and after wearing my insoles it is gone. I love my insoles!
Thanks Barbera Gardener San Jose, CA 2-10-00
Barbera is a Merchant who attends Trade Shows and fairs. She purchased her orthotics in August '99
We send you a foam impression kit to make your new orthotics. You send the kit back and your orthotics will arrive in about seven days.
On Dec-30-06 at 04:18:04 PST, seller added the following information:
On Jun-06-07 at 00:54:45 PDT, seller added the following information:
On Feb-16-08 at 13:45:10 PST, seller added the following information:
On Jul-11-08 at 12:09:52 PDT, seller added the following information:
Shipping: Please note the $15.00 for shipping. This covers the cost of the foam impression kit,and it's shipping to you. You pay for the shipping of the foam kit back to us. We pay for the shipping of the orthotics to you. If an item however says free shipping, you oly pay to ship the foam kit back to us, we cover all the rest of the shipping.
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