Claudia Dean – Former Soloist Royal Ballet
I absolutely believe in En Pointe Orthotics and know it’s a game changer for the dance industry. As an ex- professional ballerina with The Royal Ballet, I know how sore dancers feet can get after two shows of Swan Lake in one day! During rehearsals & performances I use to get extreme toe & bunion pain which felt unbearable at times. After being fitted professionally by the EPO team with my own personalised pair of Orthotics, I now have no pain on pointe at all! I believe every dancer needs their own pair of En Pointe Orthotics to reduce the pain & damage that can be caused by pointe shoes after several years. To the EPO team, thankyou for changing my experience En Pointe!
Paige Rochester â Queensland Ballet PPP
Iâm currently training in the pre professional program with Queensland ballet on full scholarship! I am really enjoying every moment of it.
I couldnât go back to my old regular toe pads since being introduced to the EPOs! I have benefited in so many different ways its crazy!
I havenât needed to touch a band aid since wearing them because I simply donât receive any more blisters which is great and I donât get any more irritation on my bunions.
I have found that my awareness of balancing on pointe has improved greatly as I feel that the EPOs keep my toes in the correct alignment ?
Iâm very grateful for everything!
Thanks Paige
Sienna W. â Dancer with Qld National Ballet â âWe are totally in love with this productâ!
Sienna my 14 year old daughter has been using the EPOâs from the beginning when she was first fitted for her pointe shoes as she has a big toe that turns in a little. They were recommended to us and I decided it would be worth trying them if it would make her life less painful en pointe.
Best thing we have ever done! She now dances at Qld National Ballet in Brisbane (has done all 2014) where she does approx. 6 â 8 hours pointe work every week. Her feet have no ugly bumps or sore spots. Sheâs never had excruciating pain like many of her dance friends. These orthotics have taken such good care of her feet. Sheâs only onto her 2nd set of orthotics after 3 years of pointe. They last so well, but Sienna does look after them. They are her âsaving graceâ as a ballet dancer. 3 weeks ago she attended a week long ballet workshop with Maina Geilgud where she had 3 1/2 hours pointe on one day. Although her feet were âsoreâ, when she looked around the other girls as they took their pointe shoes off, she was the only one who was not in pain or had blood or skin missing on her feet.
Thereâs no way she would be the dancer she is without the EPOâs, they let her get on with her dancing instead of having to focus on the discomfort. She doesnât have a high pain threshold, so I donât know how sheâd cope without the EPOâs ⊠her God Send.
Thank you so much. This product should be on every ballerinaâs feet right from the beginning ⊠honestly!
Liz (mother of Sienna)
Reanna Hultgren
“My Enpointe Orthodics are amazing! They have given me great support and comfort while dancing. They have also changed my confidence, as I am now able to dance for longer and with more strength due do the change in my alignment, which is a great feeling.â
Louise Rutherford ARAD. DipPITC. PMA Cert USA
My name is Louise Rutherford I studied with the Royal Ballet School for 2 years and danced professionally in Germany until the age of 28. Now I am the director of Pilates Plus on the Gold Coast, have been teaching Pilates for over 11 years and specializing in Pilates for dancers.
Ballet dancing is not natural and dancing in point shoes is certainly not what our feet were made for. As dancers we put our bodies through incredible extremes and now as a Pilates practitioner since I retired from ballet I have had to bring my body back into its natural alignment. That alignment starts with the feet.
En Pointe Orthotics helps with toe and foot alignment and I believe that if dancers start wearing these from an early age it can help prevent toe, foot and other alignment deformities later in life.
The natural positioning of our toes and feet is essential for our balance so it is important that this is maintained. When I wore point shoes my left big toe would cross under my 2nd toe. The En Pointe Orthotics helps prevent this and other toe problems from occurring by supporting the weight distribution evenly through the phalanges and metatarsals which then refers into the alignment of the rest of the foot, ankle to the knee and the hip.
I believe this is important during the life of a dancer but as we all know the career of a dancer is short therefore we must think about life and our body after dance.
Louise Rutherford ARAD. DipPITC. PMA Cert USA
C. M. â School of Ballet Theatre UK
For the first four years I danced en pointe, I didnât experience any pain, but after that, as pointe work hours increased, I developed strong pain at the tip of my big toe which prevented me from dancing properly. I have tried almost every brand of pointe shoe available and many styles within some brands including paste shoes and Gaynor Minden. I have been referred to particular fitters at major stores, consulted a physio and been referred to another specialist pointe shoe fitter. After 2 Âœ year of trying all types of shoes and inserts such as ouch pouches, lambs wool, different forms of taping, jell pouches, jell tips, no padding at all, I still continued to get increasing pain.
When I first heard about the En Pointe Orthotics, I was cautiously optimistic, I was desperate for a solution so I could continue my lifelong dream to be a dancer. During the fitting, I was concerned that the padding was too thin between the tip of my big toe and the box and therefore, wouldnât cushion the pain. However, Myfanwy explained that the orthotics would allow the weight to be spread evenly across the box of the shoe. This proved true and the EPO prevents pain in that area for over 3 hours of pointe work. Even after that time, there is only discomfort, not pain.
I was also concerned about the thickness of material under the metatarsal area because I thought it would prevent me from rolling through the foot, fully utilizing demi and three quarter pointe. On the contrary, that hasnât been an issue at all. Â I have a naturally big gap between my big and second toes and used to wear a large toe separator â that isnât necessary with the EPO and there is no sign of bunions developing.
If not for discovering the orthotics, I would most probably not be doing full time ballet school. I find that Iâm able to work longer than other students in class and practice afterwards because my feet are not as sore as the other girlsâ.
I definitely recommend En Pointe Orthotics for anyone who wants to prevent pain and bunions as well as correct problems.
C. M. 17yrs full time classical ballet student School of Ballet Theatre UK
T. Sparks (Dance Teacher, Professional Dancer, Adjudicator)
I started dancing at the age of 2 and went on to have a career in classical ballet in Germany, America and Australia. After 29 years in dance, foot surgeon, Sean Mullens verified my deformed left foot as one of the worst he has seen. My right foot however, was the brutal killer to my professional dancing career, having arthritis and excruciating pain in my big toe joint from the years en pointe. This required surgery but the pain remained.
With a background in sports medicine I was approached to trial En Pointe Orthotics. I was a little skeptical until I wore them for the first time. My toes felt snug and in the right place, no more toes crossing or rubbing onto the next one. I walked to the barreâŠâŠno pressure or pain. I realised the EPO wasnât masking the pain, it had just taken the pressure off the sore spots and had aligned my toes nicely.  No more need for lambs wool, tape and other accessories â just my custom made EPOâs which still alowed me to âfeel the floorâ.
I am 100% sure that my career as a dancer could have been extended with the use of En Pointe Orthotics. I feel this is going to change more than just the classical ballet world and I am grateful for the opportunity to review such a wonderful medical breakthroughâŠâŠTina Sparks.
Student physiotherapist/dancer (name withheld)
I want to work with dancers after qualifying especially younger dancers. I danced when I was young but due to being very hypermobile and having compressible feet amongst other things I found pointe very difficult and damaging, being prone to injury I stopped dancing completely. 5 years ago I restarted dancing as an adult and whilst studying physiotherapy I have become increasingly more interested in pointe shoe structure and body alignment whilst en pointe.
I have seen and heard of so many young hard working dancers try numerous pairs of shoes and types of padding and they are still in too much pain to carry on. Or in other cases damage their feet, knees and hips enough to stop all together. Already as a student physiotherapist I know alignment of the body is incredibly important and it so often gets neglected when it comes to pointe, so I have thought for quite a few years that surely you could make a custom mold to redistribute the load put through your foot, without completely immobilising the feet and toes. I have seen similar products out there along with one you can do at home, but after researching into this they do not seem safe as they seem to completely freeze the toes in place, which from what Iâve seen of this product, it is different. I have also heard some people within the dance community say that you should not need this kind of padding/support if you have correct technique, properly fitted shoes and correct training, unfortunately I do not agree with this. I know I am only a student so it is bold for me to disagree however, there are infinite combinations of foot shape and only a finite style of pointe shoe, so naturally there is going to be some people who find it harder if not impossible compared to their peers due to their structure of their feet vs structure of pointe shoe. I think it is a shame that many people stop dancing or are held back because their foot doesnât fit a generic point shoe shape and I think EPO has great potential to be a solution for this so that they can carry on dancing and do what they love.
Mother of Dancer (name withheld)
Concerned for my daughters toes and feet, after four years of dancing en pointe with the knuckling of her longer second toes and bunions forming I came across En Pointe Othotics. What a difference they have made!
Paris M â Dancer from Gold Coast
En Pointe Orthotics have completely changed the way I dance en pointe. I am now able to dance for longer periods of time without pain and have improved balance, stability and control. En Pointe Orthotics are custom made to my feet and provide support that would previously only be available through numerous products. Because of the benefits the En Pointe Orthotics provide, I am now able to get the best out of myself and my pointe work.
Dancer from VIC
Since wearing En Pointe Orthotics in my pointe shoes I no longer get stress fractures. My sisters have now been fitted for En Pointe Orthotics as well. We all love them.
QLD Dancer
I was never comfortable in pointe shoes as my big toe was much longer than all my other toes. This caused a lot of pressure on this toe and a bunion had started forming. Since wearing the En Pointe Orthotics the weight is now more even and the big toe is now supported much better with no pain.
Nicole D
Fantastic product, would highly recommend to everyone.
Brittney W
I love the orthotics as they are very comfortable and as Iâm a new pointe dancer, they make it so much easier. I also play soccer and race motor cross so the orthotics help me to not have sore feet from pointe.
Dance Mum from Qld
I was tryig to protect my daughters foot structure long term⊠They were recommended by a dance teacher â I thought she should know best as she had her daughter fitted with En Pointe Orthotics.
Stephanie
I am very happy. I can wear them for a long time, very comfortable.
Terri
In 2006 Bayley suffered extensive damage to her right foot, breaking most of the metatarsals. When she started dancing after this injury I wondered how long her foot could sustain the pressure, especially where ballet was concerned. therefore when it came time for her to go onto Pointe I chose to visit [name withheld] and have her shoes expertly fitted. I wasnât going to trust Bayleyâs future ability to move pain free to just anyone. It was at Bayâs first pointe shoe fitting that we heard about En Pointe Orthotics. I am not a doctor or podiatrist, but it was clear to me that providing as much support for the foot as possible while in pointe shoes was going to be a definite advantage for Bayley.
Since she has used the En Pointe Orthotics she has not suffered any of the common complaints like sore or aching feet. She finds them very comfortable and there is no rubbing on her foot scar tissue. The orthotics require very little maintenance (if any) and do not have a smell or odor.
There are many days when I watch Bayley dance and am reminded that things may have been very different. And times when I wonder how she manages to sustain the pressures that are placed on her foot after such a traumatic injury. I do know however, that thanks to En Pointe Orthotics her foot has the best support possible.
Liz W
I canât believe for the cost that every dancer wouldnât jump at the chance to have EPO. Pointe shoes are just NOT comfortable for the girls, EPO takes away most of the discomfort and keeps their toes and feet in a healthy state.
Name withheld
Since I started using En Pointe Orthotics I have noticed a significant difference on pointe. I rarely get any blisters and around the bunion joint isnât sore. Most of all it has helped strengthen my pointe work.
Name withheld
Since I started using En Pointe Orthotics I have noticed a significant difference on pointe. I rarely get any blisters and around the bunion joint isnât sore. Most of all it has helped strengthen my pointe work.
David M
What price do you put on saving a childs feet?
From BPAC (name withheld)
Enquiring on behalf of her niece about the En Pointe Orthotics, Aunty made mention that her nieces teacher did not allow padding to be worn in her students pointe shoes saying âwe did not have anything in our shoes back in our dayâ. Aunty then went on to say âdo they not use a microwave, mobile phone or air-conditioning. If En Pointe Orthotics were around in my day I wouldnât have the problems I have now with my feetâ.