Foot Pain Relief Store

After years of coming to the FPRS, I have bad news to report. Yes, it is true. Gus is gone. Gus Villareal was the magic that made the FPRS what it was. The corporation may be continuing under the same name, but it is a completely different business. Different people, different policies, different service. NONE of the 5 star reviews apply. IMO, they need to wipe the slate clean and start their review history over again.
My experience with this new crew was that I was open-​minded about at least giving them a chance. I stopped in in person to make an appointment to get new orthotic inserts made and that’s when I saw there was a new receptionist. I remarked on this and was told there had been «some changes.» She told me Gus no longer worked there when I tried to make an appointment with him, but there were two new people making the orthotics. She assured me they followed exactly the same procedures that Gus had used, including making a mold of the feet (but if I brought in my old plaster molds, I would get a $ 25 discount). I asked her at that time what my financial responsibility would be, and she said she could not tell me without seeing my prescription. So I brought the Rx and insurance card with me to my appointment, after having verified that the FPRS was still in-​network with my insurance carrier and that orthotics were a covered item. So once I got there for my appointment, I got a completely different story from the same receptionist. She now told me that the custom-​made orthotics that Gus used to make are not covered by insurance because they’re too much work. (!!!) They offer 4 types of orthotics, but only 2 are covered by insurance, and they aren’t the custom-​made ones that Gus used to make. Only off-​the rack inserts that she said would not address my foot problems would be covered. She would not let me speak to the insurance specialist, nor to either of the new technicians. And this was without actually looking up my insurance coverage to find out what the in-​network coverage was. Essentially, after I said I wanted to know up-​front exactly what the orthotics were going to cost me out-​of-​pocket, she became quite sure they wouldn’t be able to help me at all. The whole experience was quite bizarre.
Gus had been training several young men as technicians, It had seemed to me this was because he was hoping to retire soon, and I was dreading that day. So that part is not really a surprise. What is a surprise is the takeover of the shop by a completely different outfit that has a completely different way of doing things. None of those young men he trained are there either. I’m not going to speculate on why Gus left quite so suddenly, but my husband and I will surely miss him. And now begins the search for an orthotics fitter who can even remotely take his place. It’s not going to be the FPRS.

Strongly recommend FPRS!!!
I had an evaluation with Dr. Huang. He is very professional and tells me many details about my foot, the bone and its shape, the muscle, how the bone and muscle are perfectly working together… he clearly points out my foot pain problem. After the evaluation, I realize that how important the good in-​sole support to my foot. I have two pairs of in-​sole from FPRS. I wear them for quite a while and feel lots of improvement of my foot pain and even my back pain after a 4 – 5 hours walking in the trade show. If you have foot pain problem, really recommend to have an evaluation with FPRS and then decide what is best for you. They are not pushing you to buy expensive products but just the right one for you.

I had great luck with Dr. Gus Villareal here, but when I called to make an appointment on 1−12−15, I was told he suddenly decided to leave the practice the prior week. Does anyone know whether he is still practicing in the Austin area, and if so, what the name of his new practice is? He has a gift in treating foot pain and I will follow him anywhere. My fear is he may have retired…

My son is severely autistic with moderate foot deformities including super high arches and one foot a size larger than the other. He is 11 and until 2 years ago, when we first came to see Gus, he had never had a pair of shoes that didn’t hurt his feet. In fact, he had never taken more than an hour of steps that didn’t leave him in pain for the rest of the day. The day after our first set of shoes specially fitted with orthotic inserts and custom external wedges, my guy motored through the Texas Book Festival for hours smiling like a goose. In one hour Gus did for him what countless doctors, podiatrists, hard orthotics, and physical therapists couldn’t do. He made him move in relative comfort with balance and support. It was like a miracle. We are customers for life. Also huge: he «knew» how to «communicate» with my nonverbal son about his feet. Huge. Also Gus=regular high end shoe price. Other doctors=$ 10,000 and counting… noting that we would have paid anything for the same results.

Gus does great work, but HORRIBLE service. I waited 1 hr 45 min for a SCHEDULED consult that took less than 15 minutes. He has had my shoes for over a month. This is the 2^nd time this has happened to me. Regret to say that I will never go back which it too bad since I do appreciate the work he does.

angels work here. i’m serious! i spent all of 5 minutes with an orthopedic surgeon i waited 6 weeks to get in to see and while he did rule out any fractures, his bedside manner left much to be desired.
thank goodness he referred me to the foot pain relief store. gus spent an hour with me going over my injury. he kindly answered so many questions i originally wanted to ask the doctor. he fitted me for a night splint to help heal my plantar fasciitis and helped me find a supportive pair of tennis shoes. in addition, he also worked on some pricey insoles i had already purchased, making them much more comfortable in my shoes.
there was no hard sell to buy anything. not even what i was referred to purchase (the night splint). just genuine care, advice, and information.
on my way out, i had the pleasure of meeting trish. she was so kind and went over my insurance information with me. they were well past closing time, but both gus and trish shared personal stories with me and it was nice to connect with good people.
i spend a lot of time working alone, so when i go out for a bite to eat, or run errands, the strangers i meet are sometimes the only people i spend time with during the day.
i not only received great service, i left with a smile on my face and a warm heart.

These guys are the best. We have been seeing them now for about two years and they never fail to deliver great service and fantastic products. I highly recommend this company and its great staff. They are very reasonable in pricing and support their products and work with excellent service. You can not go wrong with FPRS.

I really was blown away by these guys. I recently got plantar fasciitis and my doctor recommended Spenco arch supports. While searching for where I could buy them, I happened across FPRS in Google and headed over there.
I was just there to buy off-​the-​shelf replacement insoles, but Gus Villareal nonetheless took me in the back and spent about an hour going over the biomechanics of the foot, how that caused the problem, and what I could do to prevent recurrence. I wouldn’t have been surprised, given the nature of their business, to have him carefully explain how a hojillion-​dollar custom orthotic would be my best bet, but instead his advice mostly centered around stretching the calf muscle and how that relates to the pain in my foot.
That explanation alone was worth what I paid for the insoles. My friend was advising me to buy them off Amazon, and yeah, it would have saved me $ 5, but I would have bought the wrong insoles and I wouldn’t have gotten all the really useful information, complete with whiteboard diagrams and a little model foot. Now, instead of being worried about having a potentially chronic foot condition that I don’t know anything about, I feel empowered to fix the condition and make sure it won’t come back again.
So in short, these guys seem to really know what they’re doing, and are willing to take time out of their day to explain how you can fix a problem in such a way that you won’t come back to their store, which is really nice. They seem to genuinely be interested in solving your foot pain problem, rather than finding exactly how much money they can extract from you. Thanks again, FPRS!

Do your feet hurt? I have a friggin foot injury that just refuses to get well. It gets better, then it gets worse (definitely, worse lately). Today, I went to the «Foot Pain Relief Store.» Great personalized, expert help. Got some new moldable insoles and shoes (sneakers) that I can walk in without any limping or pain. Its a miracle! Check them out, if you have feet related problems. Should’ve done this MONTHS ago, duh! Ask for Corey… love him!

FPRS lives up to the Unilocal reviews. My feet have been killing me since I started a seasonal retail job and I knew something had to happen to help with the killer pain in my feet. I read the Unilocal reviews and went in yesterday for otc orthotics. Gus took great care of me and didn’t try to talk me into some extra expensive purchase. Additionally, he explained and demonstrated why my comfy runners weren’t helping my problem and explained what kind of sole would be best to my feet. FPRS is a great shop and you can expect great customer service.

1.3 million stars.
I went into FPRS after finding them listed as covered (ish) on my insurance website. Even though my prescription had the InStep logo printed on it didn’t mean I had to buy there. It made me sad because I like them, but my insurance thinks they have cooties. I had to move on, for some of the stuff anyway.
Some days are slower and you can just walk in, and sometimes you better have an appointment. I was lucky enough to be squeezed in recently, and was seen by Jason, an insert maker and professional helper of all feet problems.
Jason’s had feet problems himself, so when he got to work on making my carbon-​plate insert, he suggested a bunch of other stuff I might need not just for the problem foot’s shoe, but for the other shoe too. He was very knowledgeable of how to help, wonderfully efficient, and [easytolookat] friendly.
The best part: for less than the price of the single plate at InStep, I got a custom plate for one foot and custom inserts with pads for both feet. Merry Christmas to me!
The cutest office secretary works here, too. She was stylish, funny, and smart as a whip. If you don’t like being called honey, sweetie, and baby, she’ll change your mind. The whole office made my (foot’s) day.