'Impact of Back Pain in the Workplace' Authored by Foot Levelers Chairman and CEO Kent S. Greenawalt, Publishes in The Journal of Compensation and Benefits

Foot Levelers, the world’s leading provider of custom-crafted custom, flexible orthotics serving multi-disciplinary professionals and clinicians, today announces the publication of “Impact of Back Pain in the Workplace,” a scholarly article authored by Kent S. Greenawalt, Chairman and CEO, Foot Levelers, exclusive to The Journal of Compensation and Benefits. Published six times a year, the journal examines major issues affecting compensation and benefits and reports on activity by federal and state courts, and regulatory agencies, providing a strong focus on what’s new in executive compensation. The article addresses the prevalence of back pain in the workplace, associated financial burdens of this condition and impact on a company’s employee benefit plans, collectively prompting human resource professionals and other decision-makers to seek greater value options for safer, more cost-effective care when they re-design their benefits packages.

Greenawalt explains, “Employers will want to explore treatment options for pain relief that cost-effectively close gaps in care, enhance quality of care and improve patient satisfaction. While many benefits packages currently include coverage for expensive, risky and unproven results from back surgery, injections, opioids and visits to emergency departments, benefit plan decision makers are becoming more responsive to patient needs by incentivizing the use of noninvasive approaches to address the issues associated with low back pain (LBP).”

Back pain, one of the most common medical problems in the U.S. that ranges from a dull, constant ache to a sudden, sharp pain, is among patients’ most frequent complaints to their doctors and too often is the reason people seek medical help or miss work.

“People do not always think to assess the foot as a contributing factor for back pain, although there is growing evidence among healthcare providers who treat spine problems that back pain does not operate alone,” says Greenawalt. “A key step in successfully addressing back pain is to evaluate and treat dysfunction of the feet which may be the root of many spine problems and associated pain. As many as 77% of peopleoverpronate when walking or running and just about everyone has some pronation challenge.”

He points to incentivized alternative treatments, such as chiropractic care, physical therapy, acupuncture and massage that can make a significant difference for chronic back pain. These professionals, who are actively participating in greater numbers in onsite or near site corporate clinics, are likely to prescribe custom flexible orthotics which effectively address chronic back pain.

“Doctors of Chiropractic increasingly recognize that the first step in treating back pain could be the use of custom flexible orthotics that are proven to work,” concludes Greenawalt. “The ideal product should address the three components of gait which divide each step into the heel strike (shock absorption), midstance (stabilization) and toe-off (propulsion) to manage the three arches in each foot.”

According to a study published in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, researchers demonstrated the efficacy of flexible custom orthotics with and without chiropractic treatment for LBP compared to no treatment. The randomized study concluded that among the three control groups, the groups that received flexible custom orthotics realized significantly better lower back performance in pain and motion. When chiropractic care was introduced in addition to orthotic care, there was a significant improvement gain in patient motion.

About Foot Levelers
Foot Levelers, the world’s leading provider of hand-crafted custom orthotics, has been serving healthcare professionals since 1952. Stabilizing orthotics help properly support the back, knees, hips, pelvis, and even neck by providing a balanced and symmetrical foundation. Foot Levelers orthotics are proven to reduce LBP by 34.5%. Visit www.footlevelers.com; and follow on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram (@FootLevelers).