C U R R E N T PEDORTHICS May/June 2008 Sizing It Up: Histories of the Brannock Device and Shoe Sizes Tips for a Green Business Cutting Down High Heels Pedorthic Footwear Association (PFA), 2025 M St., NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20036 www.pedorthics.org C U R R E N T PEDORTHICS m ay / j u n e 2 0 0 8 6 FEATURES Departments The Brannock Device: Famous Foot Measurer Remains the Quintessential Example of Inconspicuous Consumption 4 Letter to the Editor By Berry Craig 18 Sizing It Up: Did Shoe Sizes Sprout from Barleycorns By Berry Craig 22 Fashion That’s Well Heeled: Is Insolia the Answer? 26 Goin’ Green: 25 Steps to an Eco-friendly Office 33 Association News 34 Industry News 40 Pedorthic Industry Events 42 Pedorthic Educators Directory 44 Resource Center 46 Pedorthic Marketplace 48 Product Reference Guide By Doug Widenere 30 Member Profile: Stephanie Massie By Berry Craig CURRENT PEDORTHICS • May/June 2008 1 C U R R E N T PEDORTHICS Pedorthic Footwear Association Board of Directors Randy Stevens, C. Ped., BOCped., CFO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . President Dane LaFontsee, C. Ped. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vice President Kristi Hayes, C. Ped. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Secretary/Treasurer Mike Forgrave, C. Ped., C. Ped. (C). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Immediate Past President Jamie Dick, PT, C. Ped. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Director Arthur Smuckler, C. Ped.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Director Michael D. Veder, C. Ped., CO, BOCO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Director Faith Ballard, C. Ped., CO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Director Alan Barthold, C. Ped.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Director Harlon Compton, C. Ped., CO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Director Liz Chiles, C. Ped.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Director John Hooper, C.Ped. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Director Stuart L. Pressman, C. Ped., CO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Director Stephen O’Hare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vendor/ManufacturerLliaison Allan J. Weiner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Legal Counsel Craig Young, MD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Medical Advisor Raymond L. Fritz, DPM, C. Ped. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Medical Advisor Allan B. Grossman, DPM, FACFAS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Medical Advisor Editorial Staff Jay Strother. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Publisher and Editor Amie Shak. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Associate Editor William Wargo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Art Director Steve Biernacki. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Design/Production Advertising & Services Erin McGill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Membership Tracey Aaron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Current Pedorthics Monica Kurlemann. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PFA Symposium Current Pedorthics (ISSN 1552-8111) is published bimonthly by the Pedorthic Footwear Association (PFA), 2025 M St., NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20036. Telephone: 202-367-1145 or 800-673-8447, Fax: 202-367-2145, Web site: www.pedorthics.org, E-mail: info@pedorthics.org. Copyright© 2008, PFA. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without ­written ­permission. Letters to the Editor and other unsolicited material are assumed intended for publication and are subject to editing. Articles in CP do not necessarily reflect the opinion of PFA, its Board of Directors or its employees. CP’s use of trademarked names is done in an editorial fashion intended to benefit the trademark owner, with no intention of trademark infringement. Subscriptions are available for $45 per year in the United States ($65 outside USA). Back copies, if available, may be purchased for $5.00 U.S. If you have any questions regarding display advertising or classified ads, please e-mail Tracey Aaron at taaron@arlpub.com. Please send all product- and industry-related press releases to CPeditorial@pedorthics.org. 2 CURRENT PEDORTHICS • May/June 2008 Headquarters Staff Executive Director Brian K. Lagana Membership Services Coordinator Erin L. McGill Director of Education Al Baggett Education Associate Lauren Kemp Director of Meetings and Conventions John Rubsamen Exhibits and Sponsorship Coordinator Wayne Horton Director of Marketing Gregory Akroyd Pedorthist Preferences Our customer service reps told us we should change our pedorthic ad to tell practitioners about the products that they get requests for day after day. Some of these have been around for awhile and are proven winners. And some of them are new products that everyone seems excited about. But all of them are worth taking a look at if you haven’t tried them before. So call your friendly, knowledgeable PEL customer service rep today and order an old friend — or a new favorite. Waterhouse Leather Leather Hides Silipos® Achilles Heel Pad™ Darco Wound Care Shoe System UCO International Plaster Sculpting Tool Kit SoleTech® Advance™ Orthopedic Footwear Becker Orthopedic Tamarack Shearban® Sheets Anatomical Concepts PRAFO® Bauerfeind® GloboPed® Heel Relief Shoe Aetrex® PEL Focus Styles Keeping Pace Pediatric Brown Casual Shoe Acor Orthopedic Comfort Street Footwear with Tandem Closure Renia Colle de Cologne All Purpose Cement ® Experience the Power of One. One warehouse. One order. One shipment. One invoice. One less thing to worry about. Phone: 800-321-1264 Fax: 800-222-6176 E-mail: customerservice@pelsupply.com Web: www.pelsupply.com letter to the editor The March/April issue of Current Pedorthics included a letter to the editor that generated much discussion. Unfortunately, due to a layout error, the author’s name was unintentionally truncated from the final printed copy. The letter was submitted by Dennis Hagan, BOC Pedorthist, C. Ped., Family Shoe, Bardstown, Kentucky. His e-mail address is familyshoe@alltel.net. The editor regrets the omission. The American Board for Certification in Orthotics offers this reply to Hagan’s letter. Please let us know your thoughts. E-mail Brian Lagana, blagana@pedorthics.org or Jay Strother, jstrother@pedorthics.org. Editor: The Board of Directors of the American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics and Pedorthics, Inc. (ABC), would like to express our extreme displeasure and disappointment in the unprofessional, inaccurate and misleading Letter to the Editor published by the Pedorthic Footwear Association (PFA) in the March/April 2008 issue of Current Pedorthics. This letter has taken ABC by surprise. Representing ABC’s 2,504 Certified Pedorthists is a priority for our organization. As laid out in ABC’s May 2008 Update to the Pedorthic Community, we are fully involved and engaged in pedorthic issues, and our work on certification, accreditation and continuing education activities continues to be very productive. Certified Pedorthists (C.Peds) are active participants and leaders on our Board of Directors and Committees, as we believe it is appropriate that C.Peds lead the activities relating to pedorthic certification and accreditation. Current projects include the development of a comprehensive practice analysis (role delineation study) and an update of the scope of practice. Furthermore, ABC has reached out to the pedorthic community by participating in face-to-face meetings, active participation at the PFA symposiums and direct communication to convey information on ABC’s ongoing pedorthic activities. Despite these efforts, one anonymous, misinformed individual has taken advantage of the forum presented in Current Pedorthics to advance a personal agenda. Due to the gross inaccuracies of this letter, we see the need to respond as follows: • The ABC Pedorthic Exam Committee (comprised of nine members, all of whom are C.Peds) evaluated the 2006 role delineation study conducted by the BCP. As described in ABC’s May 2008 Update to the Pedorthic Community, the committee found the study was incomplete. Work began in March 2008 to revise and contemporize the Pedorthic Practice Analysis. Work on this project continues and the final report will be published. • Contrary to the statements of the author, the results of the BCP vote authorizing the integration into ABC were made public. ABC remains proud of the overwhelming 89 percent affirmative vote. 4 CURRENT PEDORTHICS • May/June 2008 The vote was conducted by Larson Allen LLP, an independent, unbiased auditing firm. • This anonymous individual obviously believes that the process of developing a scope of practice is arbitrary and capricious. ABC has not changed the BCP’s C.Ped. scope of practice. There is an ongoing, comprehensive process to update all of ABC’s scopes of practice. Our work on the C.Ped. scope is spearheaded by Certified Pedorthists. This committee work will not result in any reduction of the Scope of Practice for Certified Pedorthists. On the contrary, this study will take a scientific and objective look at the pedorthic educational curriculum and the results of the current practice analysis study. • ABC’s position on state licensure is to provide resources and expertise when asked. The author’s misrepresentation of ABC’s role shows a fundamental lack of insight into individual state’s legislative processes and ABC’s stated position. • We believe that the author’s disparaging statements regarding the actions of an individual in support of their own state’s licensure bill are unfounded and inappropriate. The fact that a private individual has volunteered countless hours to the licensure efforts in his home state is not something to be belittled. In the situation referenced in this letter, the author ties together the status of this individual as an ABC board member with the positions of ABC as a whole. This individual never portrayed himself as a representative of ABC in his state licensure advocacy efforts, and it is unfair and inaccurate to infer such a tie. • In addition, the author does not understand the generally accepted protocols of a board of directors. It is often necessary for ongoing board activities to be confidential, and executive committee meetings are commonly closed to the public to protect the confidentiality of the proceedings. ABC is a credentialing organization, not a membership organization. The ABC board members are elected by a thorough, transparent and open nomination process. Our audited financial statements are included in our published Annual Report which is available on our Web site. As the article continues, the statements of the author shift from misinformation to blatant continued on page 47