Dr. Kris, Signing Off for Now (Farewell, Australia!)

A “farewell (for now) Australia!” message from Dr. Kristina Petrocco-Napuli, expert on women’s wellness and Chiropractic care–not to mention a Foot Levelers’ Speaker Extraordinaire! Dr. Kris has been traveling through Oz with our Country Manager for Australia, Angelica Gaunt, speaking to Chiropractors on women’s health, treating the female athlete, and caring for the pediatric foot, among other exciting Chiropractic topics. Did you know? Foot Levelers has a Team Australia, based just outside of Sydney. “Oz” is just one of the more than 70 countries  we serve! 

img_2484

Brisbane! We made it! This is our last stop on our Australian tour and we will be spending the next couple of days at the Australian Research Dynamic Growth Conference. Brisbane is the capital of Queensland and one of the oldest cities in Australia.

The booth was very busy at the conference we had a lot of visits from docs, C.A.s and students that were interested in many of the awesome Foot Levelers products.

booth

Angelica and I at the Foot Levelers’ booth at the Dynamic Growth conference

At the conference I met many new friends and colleagues as well as some old! There were two Chiropractic colleges that were present and I was able to meet and spend time talking with some of their faculty and administrators about the curriculum and contributions to the profession. I was also surprised to find that many students attend this conference as well as new graduates.

As Saturday began, Angelica and I were busy at the booth following the opening plenary session. I then headed to my presentation location to find that an old friend and colleague would be my moderator. At this conference my topic was Demystifying the Pediatric Foot, which was a bit of a shift from the women’s health topics earlier in the week.

tribute-to-monte

A tribute to Dr. Monte, Foot Levelers’ late founder.

At the beginning of the presentation I took some time to talk about Foot Levelers’ founder, Dr. Monte Greenawalt, and his perspective on pediatric care. In addition, I was able to discuss some of the history of the profession related to Chiropractic education at Lincoln Chiropractic College and how the founding principles may have guided Dr. Greenawalt since he was an alum of Lincoln Chiropractic College.

After my presentation I had some very nice conversations with many students (as there were a lot present) and some of the local practitioners.

This was the last stop on our tour…. And incredibly bitter sweet. I had the best work companion that anyone could have asked for…thank you Angelica!

kris-and-dr-tahir

Dr. Irum Tahir and I, a fellow speaker at the DG conference, and both NYCC Alums! Dr. Tahir’s practice is based in Syracuse, New York

Throughout this trip I learned so much from all of the practitioners about practice in Australia and some of the struggles the profession is currently experiencing here as well as some of the opportunities that are developing…such as a new Chiropractic School in Adelaide.

I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity and cannot thank Foot Levelers enough for a once in a lifetime professional journey.

To my new friends and wonderful hosts: so long for now! And with a final thought… Where Have Your Orthotics Taken You? For me, to Australia and back!

angelica-and-kris

Angelica and I

We’re Racing for the Cure and We Hope You Will, Too: Susan G. Komen & Foot Levelers

Meanwhile back at the ranch in Roanoke, Virginia, Foot Levelers’ hometown….

20170223_122616_burst01

L-R: Elizabeth Hand, Mission Coordinator, and Catherine Warren, Executive Director of Susan G. Komen Virginia Blue Ridge

We welcomed two very special guests yesterday, Catherine and Elizabeth from Susan G. Komen Virginia Blue Ridge chapter. Elizabeth spoke to our employees about breast care and early warning signs of breast cancer, while Catherine was busy signing up employees for the Susan G. Komen Virginia Blue Ridge Race for the Cure on April 29th (a week after the Foot Levelers Blue Ridge Marathon).

20170223_1210341

Susan G. Komen’s mission is to “save lives by meeting the most critical needs in our communities and investing in breakthrough research to prevent and cure breast cancer.” They do incredible, life-saving work raising awareness and if — when — a cure is developed, it will be thanks in part to the millions that Komen invests in research.  Now that’s a mission we can get behind.

Foot Levelers encourages all our employees to Race for the Cure, and we make it easy by covering everyone’s registration fees. That way folks can focus on what’s important: raising money for Komen!

A big shout out and thank you to Catherine and Elizabeth for their time today (and for the cupcakes!)!

 

Wish You Were Here in Adelaide! Dr. Kris Arrives in South Australia

adelaide

More from Foot Levelers’ speaker Dr. Kris who’s traveling Down Under on our behalf speaking on women’s wellness and Chiropractic…

Adelaide is known for its many churches, small pubs, fine wines and the arts. There are churches on many corners of the streets. In the location we were there were also many beautiful parks that were filled with the most gorgeous flowers.

yumcha

Yum Cha (Chinese tea) and Chiropractic perspectives conversation with Dr. Keswani and Angelica from Foot Levelers’ Aussie team – me in the middle!

When we arrived to Adelaide Dr. Krishna Keswani was ready to meet with us right away and had a great opportunity to discuss the Chiropractic profession and his use of Foot Levelers in his practice over lunch at one of his frequented restaurants located near the Adelaide Central Market. It was my first experience having Yum Cha and Dr. Keswani made sure it was an experience to never forget.

 

After lunch and our conversations related to Chiropractic it was time to prepare for the last board seminar. It was a great night with a wonderful group of practitioners. Throughout my journey here there were a few doctors in which I met on Sunday at the Sports Chiropractic Seminar that attended the local board seminars so it was great to connect with them again and have more discussions related to women’s health. One of my favorite topics to discuss is Foot Levelers’ custom orthotic flip-flops…this was a great conversation piece with the docs at this location.

market

Adelaide Central Market: Amazing fresh produce, shops and restaurants

So long for now Adelaide….we are now headed to Brisbane for the last speaking engagement…Australian Spinal Research: Dynamic Growth Conference!

By the way…Where Have Your Orthotics Taken You today???  Mine took me to Adelaide!

lecturing

Lecturing on women’s health and Chiropractic at the last board seminar for my Australian tour

Viva Las Parker Vegas!

16832124_10158208585045332_8159001742473558568_n

Tammy giving the kiosk a test run. L-R: Brandon, Brad, Rob, part of Tyler’s head, Kent, Chad, Dawn, John, mystery person’s arm, Chris, Heather

8,157 miles as the crow flies from Melbourne, other members of the Team Foot Levelers are getting ready for Parker Vegas, Chiropractic’s biggest annual event featuring hundreds of exhibitors, dozens of presentations, and thousands of attendees from all over the world.

Check out some shots of the team getting ready for opening day. And if you’re in Vegas, be sure to drop by the Paris Hotel to see us in action!

16831934_10158208585050332_740932071204331750_n

Archie!

16831115_10158208585035332_2116024253858051022_n

Another view of the team at set up.

Musings from Melbourne with Dr. Kris

shutterstock_2511545711

More from Dr. Kris on the road in Australia

Welcome to Melbourne! Angelica and I made it to Melbourne and our presentation location for the evening. This is presentation day 3! So far I’ve been holding up well on the time change; the transition day early on seemed to be very helpful. I also believe that the Australian coffee might be having some impact… I have become a bit addicted… This is definitely going to be missed when I return home.

australia-coffee

Best coffee in the universe

Tonight was a great crowd of doctors that were incredibly excited to learn and participate in the presentation. In the audience there were faculty members from the local Chiropractic institution and we were able to have a nice academic discussion about Chiropractic technique and how it is taught at our respective colleges. In addition, we had very nice conversations related to practice in Australia.

dr-kelly-dr-kris

Dr. Paul Kelly and me

Tomorrow we head to Adelaide for the next board seminar. I am excited to meet the doctors and to get a glimpse of the city.

Where Have Your Orthotics Taken You today? For me: Melbourne!

 

 

 

boarding-melbourne

Ready to board!

On the Road in Oz with Dr. Kris

More from Dr. Kris Down Under!

sydney-board-lecture

It is my second speaking event of the Australian tour and tonight we were at the Atlantis Restaurant located in New Ryde. It was a great evening with more than 20 doctors in attendance to learn about women’s wellness. Some of the docs were those that I met at the CCA event the day before. It was an excellent chance for us to discuss more the popular women’s health topics in greater detail and focus on some of the biomechanical factors of pain.

dr-kris-and-dr-top-kimPrior to my lecture I was beginning to feel as though I really needed to be adjusted as the travel impacts were starting to kick in, and across the street from where we were located there just happened to be a Chiropractic office with an open time slot!   Dr. Top Kim from Riverside Chiropractic took excellent care of me and sent me well on my way before my lecture! I had a nice conversation with Dr. Kim about his love for the Chiropractic profession and different treatments he uses in his office. A huge thank you to both Dr. Kim and Dr. Fiona Plant!

As presentation day two concludes, I am now gearing up for presentation day three…Melbourne here we come!

Dr. Kris at the Sports Chiropractic Symposium Australia: Tweens, Teens and Young Adult Female Athletes

Here’s more from our awesome Dr. Kristina Petrocco-Napuli (“Dr. Kris”) who’s traveling through Australia lecturing on Chiropractic’s important role in women’s wellness. We’re honored to have such a wonderful doctor and educator on our team!

untitledFICS and Sports Chiropractic Australia

One word to describe this group….AMAZING! It was so wonderful to meet a group of Chiropractors on the same mission of patient centered care and leading the way in the profession. At this conference I met a variety of practitioners from around Australia as well as students from Macquarie University, Murdoch University and New Zealand College of Chiropractic.

untitled

Angelica Gaunt of Foot Levelers Australia, Dr. Lorenzo Campagna Current Sports Chiropractor NSW Chairman, Debbie Kelly-CCA and me!

The topic for my presentation at the conference was: The Female Athlete: Tweens, Teens and Young Adults. During the presentation one of the topics of interest was assisting the female athlete in understanding how to optimize training in correlation with her menstrual cycle and the impact it can have. In addition, the correlation of the biomechanics of the pelvis and conditions which effect the female patient.

The conference concluded very nicely with a gender balanced discussion panel of many untitled2speakers from the weekend related to sports Chiropractic practice….It was an incredible honor to be included.

A huge thank you to the CCA and Sports Chiropractic of Australia for including me as speaker!

As the conference ended it was now time for a walk to see some of the rest of Sydney….off to the Opera it was!

Stay tuned….. for tomorrow is a board lecture in Sydney!

aus3

We’re Headed to Vegas, Baby!

arhie-goes-to-vegasWE’RE VEGAS-BOUND, BABY! WITH A NEW KIOSK, NEW PRODUCTS, AND A NEW MASCOT – IT’S FOOT LEVELERS’ BIGGEST, BOLDEST PARKER EXPERIENCE YET!

Foot Levelers turns 65-years-young this year, and fueled by the birthday spirit the team is headed to Parker Experience Las Vegas, one of Chiropractic’s largest annual events February 23-25 in the stunning Paris Hotel!

This year, attendees will get to handle a number of exciting new products fresh from the Foot Levelers’ R&D and testing labs. Here’s what to expect should you find yourself in Vegas this weekend and wander over for a visit…

  • The revolutionary new Foot Levelers Kiosk: For the first time ever, Chiropractors will have the opportunity to experience the revolutionary new kiosk. The ideal digital assistant for the busy Chiropractic practice, the kiosk allows patients to scan themselves for pedal imbalances. Results captured through an easy-to-use touch screen are cloud-based, so doctors can access them from anywhere in the world.

footlevelerskiosk

  • NEW Vegas™ custom orthotic flip-flop, featuring over 220 brilliant rhinestones, is aptly named for the City of Lights, where it makes its big debut!
  • NEW custom orthotic flip-flop colors for spring! In our waterproof styles: Twilight, Twilight Polka and dazzling Shimmer. Our custom orthotic waterproof flip-flops feature a super soft insole for a “walk-on-water” feel; slip-resistant, waterproof outsole; EVA mid-layer to absorb heel shock; and a silky, chafe-free nylon strap.
  • New Shoethotics® from many of the world’s finest shoemakers including OluKai, New Balance, Merrell and more!

020317_vegas_01

Plus – meet Archie, Foot Levelers’ beloved mascot. We’re inviting folks to take their pictures with Archie and post to Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and more!

See you in Vegas!

 

Enter WHYOTY to Win!

Tick-tock! Time’s running out to enter February’s Where Have Your Orthotics Taken You (WHYOTY) Patient Sweepstakes! 

Just submit your photos or videos to our Facebook page for a chance one of two fabulous February prizes:

Our brand NEW Vegas custom orthotic flip-flops, with over 220 brilliant rhinestones…

OR

a pair of custom orthotic OluKai Shoethotics (women’s and men’s style available – check ’em out here)!

Simply post a picture of you with your orthotics to our Facebook page, and tell us what’s happening in the picture.

  • Each time you post = 1 entry (no repeat pics, please; they’ll only be counted once)!
  • Each post “like” = 1 entry
  • Each post comment = yet another entry!

The more you post, and the more likes and comments your posts get = the better your chances to win!

So tell your friends and let us know: Where Have Your Orthotics Taken You??

The Road to Oz! (Down Under Dispatch from Dr. Kris!)

This is the first of a multi-part series from Dr. Kristina Petrocco-Napuli, Foot Levelers’ speaker Extraordinaire who’s currently traveling through Australia speaking to Chiropractors on women’s wellness among other great topics. Did you know? Foot Levelers has a Team Australia, based just outside of Sydney. “Oz” is just one of the over 70 countries whose patients we serve! 

drkris

The road to Australia!

The past few months have been busy leading up to this amazing Chiropractic adventure… All of it feeling a bit surreal at the thought of heading to an entirely different continent!

Those that know me understand that Chiropractic is not a profession for me but a passion…So more than 24 hours ago I began my journey to the down under to not only share my passion for the profession but with a goal of continually igniting the flame of the docs I meet on this adventure to perhaps think about new methods of care for their patients, rekindle old methods they somehow left behind, and even reinforce what they are already doing.

img_2265The trip on Qantas was an incredible experience….The plane ride was a little more than 15 hours from Dallas….Five hours max had been my record in the past and never a plane of this magnitude!

So 15 hours later there I was in Sydney at 7am on a Friday feeling like it was 7pm as Thursday was lost. So as I get ready for an exciting week of 5 different lectures and 4 cities I must acclimate to the time change and prepare for an incredible week ahead!

So the final thought of the day is Where Have Your Orthotics Take You???? My answer to you is …..Why Sydney of course!

Stay tuned for the next entry as I head to the CCA for The Sports Chiropractic Symposium.

img_2273