A Closer Look at The Ortho Sleeve Society: Its Roots and Key People
Who is "The Orthopaedic Sleeve Society" and why are we trying to make "The Severs Sleeve" such a big deal?
We know that credentials are imperative to creating trust and loyalty in any product, so we wanted to make sure that all our customers, patients, and distributors (from factories all the way through to Healthcare Practitioners) knew who we are and what it is we stand for.
In this blog post we're going to show you who's out front running the show, who we have acting behind the scenes, how we made our unique brace and the inspiration behind its design, and why we chose to run our business the way we have. So without further ado!
Who is The Orthopaedic Sleeve Society?
The Orthopaedic Sleeve Society is a new business founded in 2020 during the pandemic by Cody Loopstra, a Principal Physiotherapist at a Multi-Disciplinary Health Clinic in Brisbane. Cody's background as an Exercise physiologist, Physiotherapist and Yoga Teacher, has led him to believe that many factors impact all healing states and pathologies, which eventually led to the creation of The Orthopaedic Sleeve Society.
The business was born out of Cody's success with taping strategies for Achilles, calf, and calcaneal pathologies, which unfortunately didn't last long as the tape eventually irritated the skin. This challenge led Cody to seek the help of industrial designers (Design Works) to develop a product that could help alleviate these issues, resulting in the birth of The Severs Sleeve.
In 2021, Andrew Pratt, a Principal Podiatrist in the same clinic in Brisbane's west, joined the team to contribute his expert knowledge in foot mechanics and loading patterns. The collaboration between Cody and Andrew allowed the team to develop a line of products that are specially designed to cater to individuals with distal posterior limb pathologies.
The Orthopaedic Sleeve Society takes pride in the quality of its products, which are manufactured in Taiwan. After a two-year search, the team landed a great manufacturer in Taiwan, and they are excited to grow their brand, by spreading quality industry knowledge and tools for people to heal well, fast, and for the future.
As their highest priority, The Orthopaedic Sleeve Society is dedicated to providing high-quality products and excellent customer service to empower patrons to manage and recover from their pathologies with knowledge, understanding and active involvement in the progression towards self-sustained health. With Cody Loopstra and Andrew Pratt as Directors, the team is committed to making a positive impact on people's lives by helping them overcome calf, Achilles and foot-related issues and achieve empowered wellness.
The team dreams of using this platform to continue to design and grow their product list and make a mark on helping people recover from tough conditions with quality bracing products that can be uniquely tailored, and adjustable to bring people back to their full potential.
Meet the Directors: Cody Loopstra
At the heart of The Orthopaedic Sleeve Society is its founder and inventor, Cody Loopstra. As a former sportsman, Cody has always been passionate about competition and pushing himself to be his best. He has over his career transitioned to healthcare and completed a degree in Exercise Physiology and Physiotherapy. This education, experience and desire to operate at his best have allowed him to provide the highest quality care for his patients, and over time he developed his passion into creativity, thus pouring his time into the creation of "The Severs Sleeve".
Cody concurrently works as the Senior and Principal Physiotherapist at a large multi-disciplinary healthcare practice in Brisbane's West. It was here that he developed the knowledge and practice to design the company's first brace, 'The Severs Sleeve. The brace was developed from a taping strategy that he used to help patients recover from pain and pathology in the distal lower limb. Time and refined practice developed 'The Severs Sleeve' unique design and brought about a quality bracing option for those suffering from common injuries that require better support on their journey to health and performance.
Together with co-director Andrew Pratt, Cody spends a lot of time creating content and refining the brace's application to better serve their current and future patients. Their vision for The Orthopaedic Sleeve Society is to build key, unique, and quality impactful bracing options for common irritating and debilitating injuries. This commitment to quality and innovation will hopefully allow them to grow the company into a respected player in the healthcare and bracing industry.
Meet the Directors: Andrew Pratt
Andrew Pratt since his early involvement in the design process, has been a vital member of The Orthopaedic Sleeve Society, bringing his expertise and passion for biomechanics to the table. With a background in competitive sports and performance, Andrew understands the importance of optimizing patient outcomes to ensure they achieve their goals and full potential.
Having completed a Degree in Health Science majoring in Podiatry, Andrew has spent the past 10 years perfecting his skills in managing conditions of the lower leg and foot. He has a particular interest in gait analysis, orthotic design, and helping active individuals return to their chosen activity. Andrew believes in a holistic approach to management that includes a variety of treatment options for patients and is very excited to see the ‘Sever’s Sleeve’ form part of that treatment protocol.
As a Principal in his practice, Andrew works alongside Cody Loopstra to develop new ideas, grow their knowledge, and apply it to designs that meet the needs of their patients. Whether it's discussing patient programming or shared outcomes, the two directors are committed to working together to create innovative solutions that make a difference.
Together, Andrew and Cody are driving The Orthopaedic Sleeve Society to new heights, delivering products and services that make a real difference in people's lives. Their shared expertise in biomechanics, pathophysiology and knowledge of how the body heals, makes The Orthopaedic Sleeve Society the perfect platform to become a recovery hub. A platform that helps community's take control of their pathology and rehabilitate independently From Pain to Performance.
The Role of Industrial Designers in Creating Our Products
At The Orthopaedic Sleeve Society, we live and breathe the ethos of providing our customers with the best quality products that are not only functional for all of life circumstances but also aesthetic and practical. That's why we partnered with an industrial design firm, "Design Works", a Brisbane-based company with satellite forms in Hong Kong and London.
We worked closely with Alex and his team, who went through multiple stages of IP collection, design brief, and sample phase creation to ensure that the final product was not only functional but also stylish and comfortable for our customers.
The team at Design Works was able to take our vision for the product and turn it into reality through their expertise and passion for designing new and impactful products. They provided us with a fresh perspective and innovative solutions that we hadn't thought of and ultimately resulted in helping us build a product that our customers can have faith in.
Thanks to the collaboration with Design Works, we were able to achieve our goal of creating orthopedic sleeves that are not only serviceable and fit for their purpose but also visually appealing and comfortable to wear. We couldn't be more grateful to Alex and his team for helping us get to where we are today.
Manufacturing in Taiwan: Why We Chose This Location
At The Orthopaedic Sleeve Society, we take the ethical manufacturing of our braces seriously. We want to make sure that we provide our customers with top-notch products that are built to last. After searching for the perfect manufacturing partner for 3 years, we finally found a trusted and reputable brace-building company in Taiwan.
Our journey to finding a reliable manufacturer took us to Australia, China, Pakistan, and America. However, it was Brent Messer from AlphaSport in Brisbane, Australia, who introduced us to our Taiwanese manufacturer. With his guidance and connections, we were able to locate a partner that catered to international leaders in the bracing field, and after a rigorous negotiation process, we decided we would suit one another in a collaborative process of building this product for our market.
The Taiwanese developers and manufacturers that we work with create our braces using a combination of machine and hand-made processes. They only use the highest quality materials and subject each brace to a quality control test to ensure that only the best products are delivered to our customers.
We chose Taiwan as our manufacturing partner because of their commitment to excellence and their ability to create high-quality braces at a reasonable cost, which ensures they deliver fair pay to their staff and maintain a quality and balanced support system from the first thread to the first step you take in our brace.
Based in Brisbane, Australia: Our Commitment to Quality and Customer Service
At The Orthopaedic Sleeve Society, we are committed to providing high-quality products and exceptional customer service to all our clients. Even though we are a small company, we have big aspirations to grow and expand our reach to serve 10% of the Australian market in the next two years.
As part of our commitment to our customers, we are currently working on building a rehabilitation app that will be free for users of our brace. Our goal is to provide independent and sustainable health solutions to those who use our products, allowing them to manage their conditions more effectively and lead happier, healthier, less costly lives.
We also plan to expand our brace range to address various pathologies that our customers face, and we will continue to leverage our expertise as biomechanical and musculoskeletal experts to ensure that our products are purpose-built and highly effective in helping our customers achieve their health goals.
We believe that customer service is the cornerstone of our success, and we pride ourselves on being available to our customers every step of the way. We are dedicated to answering all questions and addressing any concerns that our customers may have, so we will keep adding to our blog space, and we take any feedback seriously to continually improve our products and services.
From Pain to Performance
The Orthopaedic Sleeve Society (TOSS)
Cody and Andrew