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15 September 2012

Footbalance unveils the Footbalance Game for high-impact athletes

Footbalance unveils the Footbalance Game for high-impact athletes
The Footbalance Game custom footbed provides improved cushioning and support for high-impact sports. Footbalance North America, an innovator in custom footbed technology, will be launching a new footbed product this fall for high-impact, court sports athletes. The Footbalance Game is designed to offer greater shock absorption, better stability and injury prevention. Designed for athletes who play basketball, tennis, raquetball and volleyball, the Footbalance Game is perfect for any sport that involves demanding jumps, fast, quick-twitch movements and rapid stops. To develop the Footbalance Game, researchers looked at several used pairs of shoes from basketball and tennis players and paid close attention to weaker points in the shoes overall and where the shoe footbed encountered the largest amount of pressure. Over 50 professional court sport athletes were involved in the development of the Footbalance Game. This background research resulted the placement of 4mm inserts of the durable and responsive material, PORON® under the heel and ball of foot for increased shock absorption needed for high-impact sports. It is estimated that 75 percent of population suffers from some kind of foot misalignment. This misalignment for a basketball player in the feet and ankles affects overall body alignment and efficiency. This impairs jumping power, shock absorption and stability. Without proper support the ankles, knees and hips turn in, impairing natural shock absorption. Normally, landing a jump loads your body with five to eight times its weight. Misaligned feet transfer a greater percent of this force to the rest of the body. Over time this leads to premature wear on joints, soft tissues damage and pain, and greater susceptibility to injury. Matt Kaplan, Footbalance North America president and CEO, says the prominence of these injuries among court sport athletes is why Footbalance developed the Footbalance Game. “Footbalance is known the world over for our custom molded footbeds, but we are also known for truly listening to the needs of all our user groups,” said Kaplan. “We saw a need in the high-impact sport category and athletes came to us looking for a product. We are pleased to be able to offer a custom molded product like the Game to this core group and to be able to meet these athletes’ needs.” Hanno Möttölä, a former NBA player and current team member on the Finnish basketball team Torpan Pojat, was intimately involved in the development of the Footbalance Game and knows the health and comfort of his feet are vital to his success on the court. ”As a professional basketball player I require a lot from my shoes. With the custom-made Footbalance footbeds I can make every pair of shoes fit my feet perfectly,” said Möttölä. Footbalance Game insoles will be released to the markets in fall of 2012 at $79.99 MSRP. Footbalance was developed by a Finnish physiotherapist specializing in podiatric medicine. The system enables the rapid production of fully customized footbeds at retail stores in less than ten minutes. Available for fittings at shops and special events across the US and Canada, Footbalance footbeds support your feet in proper alignment to promote healthy foot function, improving overall body alignment. www.footbalance.com www.twitter.com/footbalance www.facebook.com/FootbalanceCustomFootbeds For further information contact: Hilary Hutcheson, PR Director, (503) 828-7074, hilary@outsidemedia.com Or visit the the Footbalance North American Newsroom