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As a former tennis pro, I’ve sustained a myriad of injuries throughout my life and career: broken bones, rotator cuff issues, lower back pain, and countless sprained ankles. I considered myself pretty tough and thought I could power through anything…that was until I broke my foot a few years ago.
I was able to find a workaround for almost every injury, but when I broke my foot, I became completely dependent on others for a while. Even though it was a small fracture, I couldn’t foresee how I’d ever be able to put weight on it again; it was that bad.
You know how the saying goes, “You don’t know what you have or how good you have it until it’s taken away from you”. Well, once my mobility was taken away from me, I realized just how important my feet were.
After a nearly four-month recovery process, I purposed to be better to my body, starting with – you guessed it – my feet.
I’m not a doctor, but I can safely say much of the rest of my pain I accumulated from 40+ years of wear and tear on my body stemmed from my feet.
Think about it: for those of us who spend much of our day on our feet, they are the base that controls our leg pain, back pain, posture and so much more. And don’t even get me started about adding on a toddler to one hip or a purse to our shoulder.
The truth is, we need a solid base – a firm foundation if you will – to literally put us in the right position to tackle our day.
But let’s face it: shoes can only help so much.
And if I’m being really honest, I’m not ready to shop at “those stores” that sacrifice style for comfort. And even if I was, I’m not ready to replace my entire shoe wardrobe.
Now don’t go being all judgmental just yet; I’m also not one of those ladies wearing 3-inch heels at all hours of the day either. Ironically though, I don’t do well with flat shoes like ballet flats and flip flops. My ideal shoe is a good wedge with not too much of an incline that gives me a little bit of padding between me and the floor without throwing my back out of whack.
So what’s a girl to do?
I tried going to one of those foot specialists I saw on TV who supposedly gives you a “free consultation” and a “personalized foot analysis”. In reality, they tried to put everyone in my family in the same device. That’s what I call the opposite of customized and left me both empty-handed and frustrated.
It was then that I remembered another commercial, this time for the Dr. Scholl’s® Custom Fit® Kiosk system at select Walmart stores.
Dr. Scholl’s® Custom Fit® Orthotics are customized orthotics for immediate, all-day relief of foot, knee or lower back pain from being on your feet.
There are three things I love about the Dr. Scholl’s® Custom Fit® Kiosk:
1. It doesn’t suggest a “one size fits all” solution because not only are we not all one size, but we don’t all feel the same pain.
2. It’s conveniently located within select Walmart stores (typically by the Pharmacy).
3. It’s FREE to use!
I remember the first time I tried the kiosk in Florida and remember thinking, “Why didn’t I know about this before?!” (Hence one of the reasons I wanted to spread the word to you all on my blog). The second thing I did was call my husband and tell him he needed to get over to the kiosk PRONTO.
At the time, he was a manager for a very popular coffee chain (yes the one with the red cups during the holidays and the mermaid logo), so he literally spent all day on his feet, often running back and forth from the drive-thru to the office and everywhere in between. Needless to say, his feet hurt. Besides just alleviating pain, the kiosk was so helpful in demonstrating where he put pressure on his feet and how the orthotics could help.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
It uses 2,000 pressure sensors to create your unique FootMap.
WHAT DOES IT MEASURE?
Your arch type, foot length and pressure points.
WHY SHOULD I TRY IT?
It’s easy to use and only takes a few minutes.
I’m not going to promise the Dr. Scholl’s® Custom Fit® Orthotics are a guaranteed cure, but what I can tell you is that they are a convenient and cost-effective way to alleviate your pain. They typically run around $50 depending on which insert is recommended for you, but you can check the Valpak envelopes that come in your mailbox for an additional Dr. Scholl’s coupon.