One on One with Kent Greenawalt, CEO and president of Foot Levelers Inc

FOR ALMOST AS LONG AS THERE HAS BEEN CHIROPRACTIC, health care providers have been recommending orthotics to balance the feet, which in turn, balance the pelvis and spine. Chiropractic Products talks with Kent Greenawalt, CEO and president of Foot Levelers Inc, Roanoke, Va, about orthotics and its role in chiropractic care.

Q How have orthotics evolved?
In the early 1950s, my father, Monte Greenawalt, DC, researched and developed the first orthotic, which were designed to make patients’ adjustments hold stronger and last longer. Other chiropractors wanted them, so my dad introduced them to chiropractic under the company name—Foot Levelers.

That was more than 50 years and a million patients ago. Customer feedback and technology allows us to make a better orthotic. Our latest orthotics, the Extreme™, encompasses over a half dozen proprietary technologies—Extreme has a temperature-controlled comfort zone of 80°F; senses which portion of your foot need to be warm or cold by returning heat to chilly toes and coolness to overheated arches; contains 75% more Zorbacel® for shock absorption in the heel and Propacel® in the forefoot to propel you; absorbs moisture; and has an antibacterial agent.

Q What is the importance of offering orthotics in chiropractic practices?
Chiropractic and spinal/pelvic stabilizers go together. The goal is to correct and rid the body of subluxations. Research shows that 80% of people over the age of 40 have foot imbalances. When people walk, imbalances transfer to the spine, interfering with adjustments. Our orthotics enhance the adjustment, which allows the body to heal itself.

Q What motivated you to go beyond orthotics and offer other products and educational seminars?
We believe in posture, and there are three types—standing, sitting, and reclining. So we have made products that properly support each of those postural attitudes—orthotics, postural back supports, and cervical pillows (respectively).

Our educational division produces seminars to raise money for chiropractic. It is critical for chiropractors to have good, up-to-date information.

Q What role have you played in furthering chiropractic? And what do you envision for its future?
We believe strongly in education. As a result, we have a gait analysis laboratory at New York Chiropractic College, the Greenawalt Library at Northwestern Chiropractic College, and high-tech classrooms at Palmer Chiropractic College, where we also make substantial contributions for physical operational facilities. We have sponsor many academic scholarships.

And I am excited about the new Foundation for Chiropractic Progress, which is a 503(C) foundation we formed, to spearhead Foot Levelers’ reverse 50th birthday gift. The gift is a national campaign to promote chiropractic. Our goal is to see 24 pro-chiropractic articles in the top 10 consumer publications this year, and we have retained one of the nation’s largest public relations firms to achieve this.

Chiropractic is health care’s best-kept secret. [Chiropractors] only see one out of 10 people in the United States. If we reach only 11%, it will mean millions—our profession grows by 10%. We only have to do a little better to make a huge difference.

When these articles are published, we will send them out to every chiropractor in America. My vision is for doctors to have a wall of honor—24 framed articles telling patients that they are in the right place.

—Lauren Hirogoyen, associate editor