MCC forays into medically engineered footwear market

25 Feb '10

6 min read

Manipal Cure & Care (MCC) launched Foot Solutions, world's largest health and wellness franchisee focusing on foot care and proper fit. This will mark India entry for many medically engineered footwear brands like Chung Shi, Orthofeet, Drew and Thorlos, that focus on therapeutic, wellness and performance enhancement.

Foot Solutions' brands are available in over 250 locations worldwide, including US, Canada, Europe, Australia and many South East Asian countries. The concept relies on evidence based medicine and personalized advice from in-store Pedorthics who ensure that footwear and accessories are custom designed to fit each individual foot.

Nearly every person can benefit from proper foot care and custom foot orthotics. Foot Solutions products eliminate pain in feet, ankle, leg, knee, back and neck. It is a boon for those with diabetes, arthritis & degenerative disorders, pregnancy, paediatrics, obesity, foot deformities resulting from neuropathy, abnormal biomechanics, congenital disorders, or surgical intervention and also athletes and sports professionals.

Dr. Satish Amarnath, Medical Director, Manipal Cure & Care informed, “Over 90% of people wear improperly fitted shoes, which in turn causes or worsens foot problems. No two feet are identical but all pairs of mass-market shoes are designed identically. That's a sure recipe for trouble, especially when dealing with 33 joints, 26 bones, and over 100 muscles below your knees. Improper footwear sends “disease” up through the legs, through the spine, all the way to the cranium. It could be surmised from this that vague ache in the lower back or the neck could be due to improper posture culminating in pain”.

At MCC, a team of specially trained physiotherapists and counsellors administer a comprehensive foot examination including inspection, palpation, soft tissue analysis, gait analysis and pressure mapping. They use a mix of state-of-the-art equipment like 2D and 3D scanners. This “Digital Foot Mapping” provides information on bumps, curves, lines and stress points at the feet. After a thorough review with the patient, custom designed foot beds are fabricated considering the orthopaedic, vascular and diabetic condition. Foot Solutions can produce custom foot orthotics as thin as 2mm that can slip into dress-shoes or a sneaker which not only provide freedom and comfort for the feet but also adds on to the compliance. Today's market has players manufacturing shoes for diabetics that stick out like a sore thumb and brand's a person for his condition from miles. Our Endeavour is to give scientifically effective solutions, entirely compatible to the poise and ethos of an individual.

Mr. Somnath Das, COO, Manipal Cure and Care said, “At Manipal Cure and Care we believe and practice, preventive healthcare. Being a category developer in India, it will create a new revenue stream for us. Besides MCC and Manipal Health Systems, we plan to market these products through outlets spread across high streets and healthcare facilities in the next 3 years.”

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