09/07/2022    Steven Selby Blanken, DPM

OTC Orthotics Problematic for Patients (Jack Ressler, DPM)

I was shocked to read Dr. Ressler’s comments about
how he can’t believe patients of Dr. Stewart or any
patient can be influenced into buying an over-the-
counter orthotic for $1,400-$1,800. I don’t think
he understands or knows anything about the company
that is doing a very large TV campaign to sell
their products. I assume the company showing these
TV commercials are not in his location. Many people
in the mid-Atlantic especially In DC Maryland and
Virginia have had multiple patients come to our
office complaining about over-the-counter devices
that they have acquired for various foot problems
that they got from a retail store.

It is very difficult to understand how a retail
store can put these comments on TV and get patients
to buy these devices to put in their shoes to treat
various problems. I myself have seen these patients
show me these products that are not even in contour
to their feet or even a proper length. The owner of
one of these retail companies was actually on a
morning talk show explaining the four arches of the
foot. I have never heard of such a thing. The video
claims that they know a lot about biomechanics in
treatments of feet, but there’s no proof for
science behind what had been said.

With that being said, one must understand that the
average patient can be influenced and pushed into
purchasing products that have no real value or not
much to offer for certain bio-mechanical foot in
ankle conditions. Several podiatrist in my region
has actually viewed Dr. Stewart‘s video and has
given high accolades for his efforts to point this
out. Many top-notch podiatrist do have short videos
on their website or their Facebook page to offer
for their patients that follow them. I think his
videos are excellent and would recommend Many to do
the same.

Furthermore, Dr. Stewart is a well-respected
podiatric surgeon in the Maryland area and is very
well known in the middle Atlantic as he is a former
president of our state society and contributes to
durable medical equipment issues with APMA. We need
more people like him and less people in our own
profession trying to bring him down. Again, only
high praise for his efforts to share with the
publicly is seeing. One must also think that if
these retail stores are offering diagnoses and
treatments of foot and ankle pathology. They should
be subject to review of state boards for that they
do not have a license to diagnose and treat people
for their conditions.

Steven Selby Blanken, DPM, Silver Spring, MD

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