Our Story

Our story

Our impact & what we stand for

For nearly 20 years, we've focused our innovation and expertise on achieving one goal – to create more possibilities for joy as families travel the pediatric specialty bracing journey. As long as children need the treatments our products provide, we promise to continue to push for better. That’s our commitment to kids. To families. And to their dedicated providers.

  • 340,000+ 

    families

    Supported through the pediatric specialty bracing journey

  • 130+ 

    countries

    Our products are making a difference for families around the world

  • Hand-crafted
    
in Iowa

    At every step, from earliest innovation through device manufacturing

  • Dedicated team
    of experts

    Committed to our mission of helping families find more joy in the journey

Photo of Dr. Ponseti (left) and John Mitchell (right) Photo of Dr. Ponseti (left) and John Mitchell (right)
Dr. Ponseti (left) and John Mitchell (right)
THE BEGINNING OF QUALITY
CLUBFOOT BRACING

On a visit to Dr. Ponseti’s clinic, John Mitchell noticed a parent holding an infant in the waiting room. The infant had significant sores on their feet from the shoes they were wearing to correct clubfoot. Seeing this, John knew that things needed to improve and started thinking about what was possible. Dr. Ponseti explained that a better shoe needed to be designed and manufactured to improve upon the standards so there would be better compliance by parents and less relapse of the children’s feet.



Focused on comfort for babies and relief for parents, John got started on building a comfortable treatment solution. After many tests and trials of John’s designs, Dr. Ponseti approved a boot and bar system. Additionally, they were able to have the boot tested by several parents at the University of Iowa Hospital and clinics.



Because of the comfort and easy use of the boot and bar system, orthopedic doctors found that the parents and children were more compliant with the bracing prescription. With greater compliance in treatment, they saw a dramatic reduction in clubfoot relapse.



John and Jean Mitchell formed MD Orthopaedics and started manufacturing shoes full-time. The impact of these shoes quickly spread between clubfoot parents.