Making Your Feet Happy

I recently ran across an ad for a product that will make your feet happy, make your legs happy, make your back happy, and let you throw away your pain meds and lead a stress-free life. All this from a simple shoe insert! It sounded too good to be true! Being a skeptic at heart, it also sounded to me like the work of a company that follows a philosophy often attributed to P.T. Barnum: “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Time to investigate.

My first stop was the company website which confined their promises to a short video and gave some FAQ-type information below about sizing, care, cleaning and the warrantee. It does mention feeling better with every step and healing from the inside out, whatever that means. And it has a free shipping countdown clock which reset at 2:30:00 every time I opened the site – not exactly a deadline.

The video tells how these insoles, using 400 massage points and special magnets, work a number of wonders including: relieving overall body pain, cooling and soothing the feet and boosting endurance. The second is the most plausible.

The video continues by telling how one feature is directed “toward the chakra of personal power,” another “toward the chakra of body function” and still another “toward the chakra of body energy.” None of this chakra stuff has any scientific basis.

Finally, they will balance your mind and body, reduce stress and naturally flush toxins, all by hitting the right pressure points and using magnets.

Another related site looks like a more scientific explanation of the same product, except none of it sounds like science. It explains that the insole wearers were inclined “to visit the bathroom more often and were thirstier. This is your body’s way of naturally cleansing toxins and eliminating them from your body!” True, visiting the potty is a natural way to eliminate toxins, but do you need shoe inserts to make it happen? Then they tell us, “Based on the theory of reflexology, magnets are believed to balance your body’s natural electromagnetic levels.”

Well, the theory of reflexology may think so, but the FDA differs. “To date, the FDA has not cleared for marketing any magnets promoted for medical uses.” And the National Center for Complimentary and Integrative Health, a group typically sympathetic to these kinds of claims, says, “Magnets have not been proven to work for any health-related purpose.”

After searching through various sites for about 15 minutes, I finally found what I was looking for, the expected standard disclaimer. Here is an abridged form:

“ALL CONTENT AND INFORMATION…ARE FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND ARE STRICTLY NOT INTENDED TO DIAGNOSE, TREAT, CURE OR PREVENT ANY DISEASE, FOOT PROBLEM OR ANY OTHER MEDICAL CONDITION. YOU SHOULD ALWAYS CONSULT WITH YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER BEFORE USING OUR PRODUCT….

“Testimonials and comments found within our website are unverified results…which are…not intended to guarantee that everyone will achieve the exact same results.

“Our website content…is solely for informational purpose only…. We do not represent in any manner whatsoever that the content of our website contains the opinions of a healthcare professional.”

In summary, the shoe inserts will yield a large number of miraculous results from your head to your feet. You will have higher energy, less stress and all parts of your body will be happier – including your chakras! But if it doesn’t work for you, don’t blame the company.

But what about all those endorsements from satisfied customers? Can you say placebo effect?