The founders story
The interest in foot related injuries and heel pain began during our founder Per Øllgaard’s first years in his clinic in 1999. A consultation with a young man with permanent heel pain due to a broken heel bone should prove to be a crucial turning point for Per. He noticed that the number of patients referred to him with heel pain increased year by year. Most of them were young children and teenagers, between the ages of 8 and 14.
What these kids had in common was their high level of physical activity. Many of them attended sports – gymnastics, football, handball, athletics – several times a week. Some of them had even been singled out as young talents.
Resting and sitting on the bench
When these kids turned up in the clinic with their parents, their activity had been put on hold. And they were frustrated.
Their sore heels were giving them so much pain, during as well as after training, that they had been advised to take a break from their sport – in the hope that a period of rest would help the pain go away.
Finding the right solution
Determined to get these kids back into their game, Per searched the market for insoles and tried out various models. But none of them provided the effective and consistent pain relief the children and teens needed. He realised that if he were to give these kids the solution they needed – he had to invent it.
After years of testing, trying out different materials and finetuning levels of elevation, he finally had an insole that provided exactly the right suspension that relieved pressure from the heel.
The Solemaids journey began
