Japan: 20 years of pedorthics at Kobe College
The Kobe College for Medical Welfare has been running courses in pedorthics for twenty years. IVO Japan took this 20-year anniversary as an opportunity to host this year‘s annual congress in February 2019 in Kobe. The motto of the event was ‘Design and Performance‘, focusing both on solutions to foot disorders and design aspects.
Prof. Dr. Seiji Sawamura, one of the directors of Kobe College and for many years a patron of the orthopedic trades, officially kicked off this year‘s congress, to which a number of speakers from Europe were invited as well. Dr. Franz Landauer, President of ISPO Austria, addressed the topic of foot deformities in his lecture. Dr. Ullrich Illgner and master pedorthist Michael Möller complemented one another in their lectures on the diabetic foot. Beforehand, Dr. Hiroto Terashi from the University of Kobe had introduced special issues relating to the treatment of diabetic foot and also reported on the regional and international epidemiology of diabetes and diabetic foot syndrome. According to Dr. Terashi, given the number of sufferers, there are still too few foot specialists in Japan to address this problem.
Master pedorthist Anastasia Anastasiadou from Germany and Saki Takimi from Japan were in charge of the “Design“ area of the congress program. Takimi is a shoe designer and presented a women’s shoe that she had developed herself. Anastasia Anastasiadou has built up quite a fan community in her native Germany with her extraordinary creations for shoe soles and shafts. The striking thing about Ms. Anastasiadou‘s work: She doesn‘t apply her creative solutions to ready-made shoes, but to custom-made orthopedic footwear.
The topics Design and Performance were central to other congress lectures as well. A number of short presentations, some also given by graduates of Kobe College, focused on case studies with real pedorthic solutions as well as aesthetically sophisticated designs. Kobe College took advantage of the European speakers‘ visit to offer various workshops to its students and association members on the two days leading up to the congress.
All in all, with the roughly 170 guests and the students from both classes, the congress attracted over 200 visitors. Not only were they offered interesting lectures, but also a comprehensive trade exhibition. Eduard Herbst‘s thanks therefore were extended not only to the helpers, but to the exhibitors and sponsors as well. He added that it had only been possible to invite the speakers from Europe to Kobe with the help of the two “Gold“ sponsors, Nora and Renia, as well as the “Silver“ sponsors Nitta and Lucky Bell.
Looking back on 20 years of Pedorthics courses
The first course for pedorthists at Kobe College for Medical Welfare was offered in 1999. Pedorthist Eduard Herbst has been teaching there since the very beginning. During their only two-year school training, the students are taught both the medical knowledge and technical skills that will enable them to independently develop and fabricate an assistive device – insoles or shoes – according to a doctor‘s specifications.
About 460 students have completed the course over the last twenty years. Most of those who have remained in the profession today work at orthopedic technology companies, where they are the specialists for shoes and insoles. Unfortunately, self-employment is as yet only a limited option, as pedorthists in Japan are still not able to invoice their services directly to health insurance providers. Technical director of the Pedorthics curriculum, Eduard Herbst reports that its graduates are also sought-after experts in other areas like sport-shoe companies or comfort-shoes producers and retailers.
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