Good Feet to mark 1st anniversary with Doctor Day event

Good Feet® is not just the name of a business whose tagline is “America’s #1 Arch Support.” It’s also the goal of a company that believes good feet are important to the human body.

“Ninety percent of the U.S. population will have foot problems during their lives that can cause pain in their feet, legs, hips or back,” said Michael Gallagher, store manager of Good Feet® in Avon. “People may not understand the connection between feet and the body’s foundation. It’s all about alignment.”

Good Feet®’s arch support products, also called orthotics, show a 98 percent success rate in reducing pain, Gallagher said, compared with traditional orthotic devices and generic inserts that have a 42 percent success rate.

That’s why he’s inviting the public to a celebration of the store’s first anniversary in Avon. He wants to provide people with an education about foot care and the value of proper arch support.

The Doctor Day event is scheduled for Saturday, March 14 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors can receive advice from Good Feet® staff, plus get a free 10-minute foot evaluation from podiatrist Dr. Scott Lindsay of Valley Ankle & Foot Care in Farmington. Lindsay’s appointments will be first-come, first-served. For information, call 860-677-0151.

“We work with medical professionals because we don’t consider ourselves competitors,” Gallagher said. “If the client’s condition is too severe, we will refer them to a doctor we know and trust.”

Good Feet®’s orthotic products help people with the full gamut of foot diseases, the most common plantar fasciitis. They can slow the progression of bunions, he said, and have prevented surgery for people with both conditions.

“All of our orthotics are designed by orthopedic doctors based on the ideal human foot,” Gallagher said.

When the foot is in the “ideal foot” position, he explained, it is functioning at maximum effectiveness and aligning the entire body, which can eliminate pain due to improper pressure distribution. Each foot has four arches that work together to stabilize the foot and help to balance the entire body while standing and walking.

Many foot problems are caused by wearing improper footwear or walking/standing on hard surfaces for long periods of time, he said, noting that feet were designed to walk on natural surfaces, not man-made ones like concrete.

Good Feet® employs specially trained and certified arch support fitters who use several devices and measuring tools to analyze each person’s unique biomechanics. They also help choose the arch supports that best fit the individual’s lifestyle.

Unlike other arch supports that only fit athletic shoes, Good Feet® makes products for all types of activities and shoes, even high heels and sandals – more than 25 different styles and over 350 sizes.
Free consultations are offered and no appointments are necessary but customers should allow about 45 minutes for discussion and measurements and are advised to bring along their commonly worn shoes.

“We do same-day custom fitting; no molding or casting is needed for our technology,” Gallagher said. “Lifetime warranties are given on our products, so if clients crack, flatten, or break their orthotics over their life, we will replace them for free. And if they need different ones over their life because of surgery, injury, weight loss, weight gain, pregnancy or some other change in their body or needs, refits are also covered under the lifetime warranty.”

The Avon store is one of two Good Feet® franchises owned by Gallagher’s father, Joseph Gallagher Sr. Their first store opened in North Haven in 2010, and they plan to open five more stores in Connecticut.

“We’ve had family-owned businesses for more than 40 years but they’re not as personal or humanitarian as this,” Gallagher said. “It became a perfect fit.”

Both he and his father, who are Wallingford residents, have experienced back pain and when a franchise broker told them about Good Feet® and after conducting research, they were sold on buying in.

“The changes we saw in our bodies after using the products were amazing,” Gallagher said.

As New Haven County residents, opening their first store in that area made sense, he said. But coming to Avon was serendipity. One of their accountants was passing by the spot and saw that it was open.

“I feel very fated that we’re here,” Gallagher said. “I love this location in Avon. It has proximity to many area towns and a lot of charm. The Avon Chamber of Commerce is great, the people are awesome.”

Starting out as a small family-owned business in 1992, the first Good Feet® store opened in San Diego in 1995 to help people who, like the company’s founder, suffered tremendous foot and back pain that was so crippling their quality of life had deteriorated. Now a global company, Good Feet Worldwide, LLC is headquartered in Carlsbad, California. Former pro basketball player and Hall of Famer Bill Walton is a company spokesperson.

In addition to orthotics, Good Feet® sells a variety of foot-related merchandise such as compression socks, diabetic products, foot creams, toe warmers, and a selection of shoes as an accessory to the orthotics. The store also carries back support equipment for sitting and sleeping.

Good Feet® is located in the Fairway Shops Plaza at 70 East Main St. (Rte. 44), Avon and at 209 Universal Drive North, North Haven.