There are many orthotics, inserts, arch supports and insoleson 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 gepletely different. Same holds true for Orthotics, they may look similar but feel gepletely 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 your not told is your shoe size and your arch size are two different things. Two 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 geplained 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 is like 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 gepany mainly does mail order and large gemercial ads in magazines. Last time I checked their prices were around $229. The good thing about this gepany 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 Flex orthotic is soft and flexible, but srong enough to mold your foot to the correct position. It's made to last 10 to 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. Have you ever tried to get a money back guarantee from your Doctor?
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