Carrollwood · Tampa Bay
Custom Orthotics in Tampa: Examined and Prescribed by a Chiropractic Physician
Before anyone sells you something to stand on, Dr. Bobby Koser, DC, chiropractic physician, examines your feet and the way you stand and walk, and tells you what he finds.
If custom orthotics are the right answer, they're manufactured from a laser scan of your feet and prescribed for the shoes you actually wear. If they're not, he'll tell you that too.
The Evaluation & 3D Scan is $100, and it includes your fitting. The device is quoted to you in writing, and nothing is ordered until you approve the price.
Custom Orthotics Overview
What Brings People In
These are the reasons people book this visit. Any one of them is a reason to have your feet examined, and the examination is what decides whether an orthotic is the right answer at all.
- Heel painOften worst with the first few steps in the morning, or after you have been sitting a while.
- Arch painAn ache along the bottom of the foot that builds through the day.
- Pain in the ball of the footBurning or aching under the front of the foot, often worst as you push off your toes at the end of a step. Sometimes called metatarsalgia.
- Plantar fasciitisAlready diagnosed somewhere else, or suspected and never properly worked up.
- Flat feet or fallen archesWith pain, or simply noticed and wondered about.
- Pain from standing all dayHard floors and long shifts, and feet that are finished before you are.
- One-sided knee, hip, or back painPain on one side only, where the examination points to what the foot underneath it is doing.
- Shin splintsPain along the front of the lower leg that turns up with running or walking.
Ready to find out what's causing it? Dr. Koser performs your exam and your fitting personally.
Book Your Exam Call UsHow It Works
- Examination firstDr. Koser examines your standing posture and your gait (the way you walk) to find what's generating the symptom before anything is prescribed.
- Weight-bearing laser scanYou stand on the scanner and a laser maps each foot in about a minute. No foam, no plaster. Your foot under load is a different shape than at rest.
- Matched to your shoesDr. Koser selects the device from his exam findings and the footwear you actually live in.
- Made for your feetYour scan and prescription go to Foot Levelers, in Roanoke, Virginia, which has been making individually designed orthotics since the company was founded in 1952 and describes each pair as hand-crafted there. Yours is made from your scan, not pulled from a size bin.
- Fitted, then followed upDr. Koser fits them in your shoes and walks you through the break-in schedule. Prescription adjustments during the manufacturer's warranty period are part of the process.
Two Ways People Buy Arch Support
Arch support is sold two very different ways. Both put support under a foot. The difference is what happens before the sale. If heel or arch pain is what brought you here, our plantar fasciitis and heel pain page covers those conditions in depth.
| Stage | Retail arch-support model | How we work |
|---|---|---|
| Who evaluates you | A salesperson or fitter, in a store | Dr. Koser, a chiropractic physician, examines you |
| What you get first | A fitting for a product | An examination and a working diagnosis, explained to you |
| How the device is made | Pre-manufactured supports selected from stocked sizes and support levels | Individually manufactured from a weight-bearing laser scan of your own feet |
| What it’s based on | Your foot measurement and reported comfort in the store | Your exam findings, your gait, and the footwear you actually wear |
| Price structure | One product price, often for a multi-pair system purchased at once | A published $100 evaluation and scan fee, plus the device, quoted in writing before anything is ordered |
| If it isn’t working | Return to the store under its own policy | Come back to the doctor who examined you; the prescription can be modified under the manufacturer’s warranty |
| If orthotics aren’t the answer | Not a service the store provides | He tells you, and treats what the exam actually found |
This table describes two business models, not two specific businesses, and makes no claim about the quality of any product sold in a retail store.
Five questions worth asking anywhere you're offered arch support, including here
- What is the total price, including every pair being recommended to me today?
- Am I being fitted for one pair, or a system of several bought at the same time?
- Who is evaluating me, and what are their clinical credentials?
- Is this device made from a scan or cast of my own feet, or selected from stock sizes and support levels?
- What is the refund policy in writing, and what voids it?
Ask them everywhere you shop, including here. We'll answer all five on this page, in person, or on the phone. Happily.
Types of Custom Orthotics
One pair can't do every job, because one pair of shoes can't. A dress shoe and a running shoe don't take the same device. The prescription is matched to your footwear, and if your work shoes and your sport shoes are very different, that is worth raising at your fitting. Start with the shoes you actually wear.
- Everyday and work shoesInMotion and InMotion+, the general-purpose devices in the range.
- Long days on hard floorsComfort Top and Elite Comfort, both made for long hours standing on hard surfaces.
- Work boots and job sitesTough Top, made for construction, plant and factory footwear.
- Dress shoes and slim footwearDress-length versions of InMotion and InMotion+, a leather-top device, and the 5th Avenue range for women’s flats and heels up to two inches, which uses a vegan leather top.
- Sport (the XP3 collection)Seven devices, each matched to a sport: Run, Run Distance for marathon and triathlon training, Train for the gym, Court for pickleball and tennis, Field for cleats, Golf, and Ski for ski boots.
- Wet and humid conditionsAquaguard, which Foot Levelers describes as having waterproof top and bottom covers.
- ChildrenUltra Young Soles, made for ages five to twelve, with a resizing plan as feet grow.
- Custom footwearShoethotics, which are shoes manufactured with your orthotic already inside; custom orthotic flip-flops in Classic and Waterproof versions, with the strap fitted to your own foot; and the XP3 Recover slide.
Foot Levelers updates its range, so Dr. Koser will confirm what is current at your fitting. It also sells sandals with a shaped footbed already built in, and resells regular brand-name shoes. Those are picked off the shelf in your size, not manufactured from a scan of your feet.
Pricing
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Evaluation & 3D scan, including your fitting | $100 |
| The orthotic device itself | Quoted to you in writing before ordering. You approve the exact price before we order anything. |
Prices shown are our time-of-service rates, available when you pay in full at the visit. Care billed to a third-party payor, including auto insurance under Florida PIP, health insurance, Medicare, or workers’ compensation, is billed on our standard fee schedule without that discount. Device pricing varies by which device is prescribed, so we quote it rather than publish a single number. Members pay less on the fitting fee; rates are set in the membership agreement.
Custom foot orthotics here are self-pay. Orthotics prescribed by a physician may be eligible for HSA and FSA funds; confirm that with your plan administrator. If you're being treated under an auto accident claim, orthotics are handled through that claim and billed on our standard fee schedule without the time-of-service discount.
THE PATIENT AND ANY OTHER PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYMENT HAS A RIGHT TO REFUSE TO PAY, CANCEL PAYMENT, OR BE REIMBURSED FOR PAYMENT FOR ANY OTHER SERVICE, EXAMINATION, OR TREATMENT THAT IS PERFORMED AS A RESULT OF AND WITHIN 72 HOURS OF RESPONDING TO THE ADVERTISEMENT FOR THE FREE, DISCOUNTED FEE, OR REDUCED FEE SERVICE, EXAMINATION, OR TREATMENT.
Break-In Period and the Manufacturer's Warranty
The 45-day break-in period matters for your warranty
The manufacturer specifies a 45-day break-in period: you gradually increase how long you wear them each day while your body adapts. Its published warranty terms require that the period be followed, so skipping it can affect your coverage.
What the manufacturer's warranty covers. Custom orthotics carry a one-year limited warranty from the ship date, and can be returned for modification or refund within that year, provided the break-in period and the warranty's requirements are followed. Custom sandals and flip-flops carry a 180-day limited warranty. Footwear with the orthotic built in carries a 90-day warranty, with the one-year term on the orthotic inside.
What voids it. Trimming the orthotic yourself voids the warranty; bring it to us instead. Water damage voids it on standard devices, but not on the waterproof flip-flop construction.
How long they last. The manufacturer recommends replacement about every two years. We check them at your visits and tell you when they're worn.
Warranty and return terms are set by the manufacturer; the terms in effect when your order ships apply, and we give them to you in writing with your quote.
What the Research Shows
A randomized controlled trial of 225 adults with low back pain lasting three months or longer, published in Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in 2017, compared prescription shoe orthotics against no treatment. After six weeks, the group wearing orthotics reported significantly greater improvement in pain and function than the group receiving nothing. Adding chiropractic care to the orthotics produced greater improvement in function than orthotics alone.1
Two things about that study you should know. First, at the twelve-week mark and afterward, the differences between groups were no longer statistically significant. Second, the study was funded by Foot Levelers, the manufacturer whose devices we prescribe, and the comparison group received no treatment at all rather than a placebo insert.
So: there's real published evidence that prescription orthotics help chronic low back pain in the short term, and that evidence has real limits. What we'll tell you at your visit is what your examination found and what we think it means for you.
1. Cambron JA, Dexheimer JM, Duarte M, Freels S. Shoe orthotics for the treatment of chronic low back pain: a randomized controlled trial. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2017;98(9):1752-1762. PubMed
Start with the examination
Everyone starts the same way, with the Custom Foot Orthotics Evaluation & 3D Scan: $100, which includes your fitting when the devices arrive.
Dr. Koser examines your foot structure under load and your gait, then scans your feet. If he finds something that warrants a closer look, he'll image it with ultrasound screening during that same visit, at no additional charge.
If custom orthotics are the answer, you'll have the exact device price in writing before anything is ordered.
THE PATIENT AND ANY OTHER PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYMENT HAS A RIGHT TO REFUSE TO PAY, CANCEL PAYMENT, OR BE REIMBURSED FOR PAYMENT FOR ANY OTHER SERVICE, EXAMINATION, OR TREATMENT THAT IS PERFORMED AS A RESULT OF AND WITHIN 72 HOURS OF RESPONDING TO THE ADVERTISEMENT FOR THE FREE, DISCOUNTED FEE, OR REDUCED FEE SERVICE, EXAMINATION, OR TREATMENT.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do custom orthotics cost at HealthSpine?
The evaluation and 3D scan, including your fitting, is $100. The device is quoted to you in writing, and you approve the exact price before we order anything. Prices shown are our time-of-service rates, available when you pay in full at the visit. Care billed to a third-party payor, including auto insurance under Florida PIP, health insurance, Medicare, or workers' compensation, is billed on our standard fee schedule without that discount.
Do I need custom orthotics, or would store-bought inserts work?
That depends on what your examination finds, which is the reason the examination comes first. A shelf support is made for an average foot. A prescribed device is made from a scan of yours, after someone has examined how you stand and walk. Dr. Koser will tell you what he found and whether a prescribed device is warranted.
Nothing hurts and I just want better support. Do I still need an exam?
Yes. Dr. Koser prescribes these devices, and he won't prescribe for feet he hasn't examined. It's the same $100 Evaluation & 3D Scan either way, and it includes your fitting. If pain is what's bringing you in, book the Pain Source Exam first, so the pain gets a full examination before anything is prescribed for your feet.
What if they don't feel right?
Come back and tell us. New orthotics take a 45-day break-in period to adapt to, and Dr. Koser checks the fit during that window. The prescription can be modified under the manufacturer's one-year warranty, and within that year the device can be returned for modification or refund when the warranty's requirements have been met.
Who fits them, the doctor or a technician?
Dr. Bobby Koser, DC, performs your examination and your fitting personally.
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This page is general health information and is not medical advice for any individual. Custom orthotics are prescribed from examination findings, and whether a device is the right answer for you can only be determined by examination. Talk to Dr. Bobby Koser, DC, chiropractic physician, about your own situation. HealthSpine Chiropractic, 10330 N. Dale Mabry Hwy Ste 205, Tampa, FL 33618. Product names referenced are trademarks of their respective manufacturer.
Find Out What's Actually Causing It
Heel and arch pain have a source. Book the exam that looks for it.