If you didn’t subscribe to our Newsletter, here’s what’s coming up this quarter at Nolaro24!
Announcing 2 NEW Master Class Opportunities!
NOLARO24 is proud to announce 2 new amazing opportunities for you to take our Adult and Pediatric Biomechanics Master Class in conjunction with your favorite conferences! Go a day early and hone your biomechanics skills – no extra travel involved. Pre-Approved by ABC, BOC Pending
Join us for our new series of 3 Biomechanical Webinars:
Pediatric Practice Pearls: Age specific orthotic protocols July 11, 2019 Basic Biomechanics: The Four Steps to Foot Typing August 8, 2019 Advanced Gait Analysis and Orthotic Design September 12, 2019
Come See Us at: IPED, September 12-14, 2019, Pittsburgh Airport Marriott Buffalo Podiatry September 13-14, 2019 PFA, November 7-9, 2019, Las Vegas, NV World Congress of Podiatry November 14-16, 2019
Understanding Foot Types and Managing the Adolescent Athlete By Roberta Nole, MA, PT, C.Ped
It’s summer and kid’s sports are in full swing! This article is essential in understanding the adolescent athlete’s foot type, and therefore, their tendency toward certain pathologies and injuries.
Pediatrics is one of podiatric medicine’s best kept secrets. From afar, observers could easily assume that tpodiatric medicine and surgery involves purely adult and geriatric care. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. In fact, the treatment of children and children’s foot problems should be a vital part of common podiatric practice. Besides the direct benefit to those children impacted by foot problems, from a practice standpoint, podopediatrics can be a valuable source of sustaining referrals in that once the care of children is entrusted to a podiatric physician, the care of other family members will most likely soon follow.
6 Reasons to Treat Kids in Your Practice:
Genetics: Kids inherit their foot types
Kids don’t always outgrow flat feet
Preventing the long-term effects of aging on a neglected pronated foot
Opportunity to grow your practice
Kids are not just mini adults: They are more susceptible to injury
Increased Emphasis On Sports = Increased Incidents of Injury
Benefits of a PodoPediatric Screening Clinic
Benefit 1: Efficiency and Marketing At The Same Time A Children’s Clinic opens the door to treat many potential pediatric orthotic candidates in a single day. Allows you ability to efficiently screen entire families.
Benefit 2: Build Referrals Through Education The Children’s Clinic offers opportunity to educate referring General Practitioners and Pediatricians on the benefits of early intervention. Perform community talks to educate parents, coaches and kids on why feet are important.
Benefit 3: Get Your Staff Involved The Children’s Clinic gets the whole staff involved, particularly the Podiatry Assistants who can effectively manage 90% of the program.
Benefit 4: Affordable Options Neglect in managing kid’s foot conditions is often due to prohibitive costs. Not all kids need custom devices. Prefabricated kids foot orthotics and/or bracing often offer affordable, yet effective, treatment solutions.
Implementing a PodoPediatric Screening Clinic
Step 1: Pre-planning
Meet With Your Entire Staff Ahead Of Time And Plan Well In Advance. Allow At Least 4-6 Weeks For Proper Promotion.
Include Late Appointment Hours After 5pm For Working Parents, Or Consider A Saturday.
Be Sure Ample Staffing Is Available To Call On If Needed.
Have Enough Prefabs In Various Sizes In Stock To Dispense During The Clinic (orthotics, braces and splints).
Set Up A Registration Process For Call In Appointments Or Register On-line.
Try And Make Appointments, But Accept Walk-ins
Step 2: Advertising & Notification
Notify the public of the event. TELL EVERYONE! Don’t assume just because you are running a clinic, parents will find out on their own and show up!
Emphasize “FREE” foot exam for kids. Keep notifications brief.
News paper or radio ads can be very effective and affordable.
Don’t forget to post the clinic on your website! Set up a registration page.
Step 3: Get Ancillary Care Providers Involved
Pediatricians
Chiropractors
General Practitioners
Physical Therapists
Orthopedists
Early Intervention Therapists
Pediatric Shoe Stores
Step 4: Educate Staff on their Roles
Pre-Planning
Creating a Kid Friendly Environment
Preparing Announcements & Notifications
Booking Appointments
Talking up the Clinic to Existing Patients
Handout Flyers at Checkout
Managing Prefab Inventory
Processing Custom Orders
Posting Flyers Around Town
Assisting in Website Updates
Teach Them to Foot Type (PA Webinar)
Keep Adequate Supply of Patient Literature On Hand
Fax Blast Referring Providers
Send Out Post Card Announcements to Patients and Their Families
Keep Kids Occupied While You Are Discussing RX Options With Parents
Step 5: On Clinic Day
Introduce yourself to both the parents and the child.
Ask what concerns the child and the parents have, and what brought them to the clinic
Ask if the child has had any previous treatment
Inquire about family history for foot related conditions or symptoms and LLD’s
Briefly explain the purpose of the foot screening (Is the child’s foot structure and gait within normal parameters for their age)
Look at them standing barefoot, check heel valgus alignment and arch height
Allow the child to move around, engage in normal activities and play and notice their balance, ability to maneuver / coordination, etc
Watch and analyze gait
Determine their functional foot type if child is a teen
Step 6: Decide on Treatment Options
Podiatric Measures
Bracing for Structural Deformities
Custom Foot Orthotics For More Pathological or Extreme Cases
Prefabricated Foot Orthotics to Promote Proper Posture, Injury Prevention, or Less severe Symptomatic Cases
Gait Plates
Night Splints
Outside Referrals for Treatment
ROM
Strengthening – Core and Limbs
Balance Training
Coordination & Agility
Proper Shoe Wear
Step 7: Follow Up
Be sure to contact each parent attendee within a week following clinic, by phone or email.
Get opinions to help improve the next clinic…. would they attend again, what day/time of day would have been better, etc.?
Start building parent database for the future. You may want to schedule a Children’s Clinic on a regular basis (monthly, quarterly, etc.) and if you save contact information on an ongoing basis, your email and mailing database will become an effective promotional tool.
Remember, children who start using orthotics early will return for next sizes several times, and will eventually become part of your adult patient base.
So if you have not been treating kids….WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
Today is National Clean up Your Room Day! In honor of the event, why don’t you re-organize you waiting room with a fresh, new orthotics display?
Did you ever wonder how to set up the NOLARO24, LLC products in your store or office? We have the solution!
The best way to display your QUADRASTEP® and littleSTEPS® would be to have a complete kit of each in your store or office, that way you can fit your customers without opening up your retail bags. With your kit you will have gotten the NOLARO24, LLC educational 6 Quad poster, which makes a great centerpiece along with your kit. It may be easier to display your poster if you frame it, making it simple to hang from your wall or slat board.
In the example above, displayed at Stride Pedorthic Center in Middlebury, CT, they have our new 6 drawer kit which has complete sets of both QUADRASTEP® orthotics and littleSTEPS® orthotics and gait plates. On top of that are some informational brochures for patients and/or parents which we can customize with your logo and office/store information.
Above the kit and brochures, they have hung a framed NOLARO24, LLC 6 Quad poster which you can use as a reference for arranging your QUADRASTEP® orthotics around the poster. We recommend hanging the A, C, and E Quads on the left; and the B, D, and F Quads on the right. You can hang your littleSTEPS® orthotics around the QUADRASTEP® orthotics on either side.
Another great option is using our new QUADRASTEP® and littleSTEPS® video in your retails space or waiting room. This is an entertaining and informative presentation that you can loop on a laptop or video monitor in the area where the NOLARO24, LLC educational 6 Quad poster sits in the above display. People love to look at the symptoms and try to guess what their foot type is! It can help to prompt customers to ask you to confirm their foot type so that you have the opportunity to fit them with our unique, inexpensive, custom to foot type orthotics. You can download the video on our graphics page on the nolaro24.com website.
For more information on getting a kit for your office or retail space, visit nolaro24.com or call Bert Parsloe at 203.725.6179.