then there are a wide range of devices which are foot orthoses. This range would include footwear with adaptions, ‘simple’ insoles and pads and the rigid foot orthoses produced from casts of the foot. It is the latter of these on which this article concentrates as it is these orthoses which suffer from a general lack of understanding of their principles and applications. This is not to say that...

A pronated foot posture is considered to be a factor in limitation of dorsiflexion at the first metatarsophalangeal joint during weightbearing. Customized foot orthoses are widely used to increase dorsiflexion at the first metatarsophalangeal joint in people with pronated feet. However, the effect of foot posture and customized foot orthoses on maximum first metatarsophalangeal joint dorsiflexi...

This study evaluated the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of two different types of foot orthoses used to treat plantar heel pain. Forty-eight patients were randomly assigned to receive either a functional or an accommodative orthosis. General (EuroQol) and specific (Foot Health Status Questionnaire) health-status measures were used. Data were also collected using economic question...

BACKGROUND The use of knee-ankle-foot orthoses with drop locked knee joints produces some limitations for walking in subjects with quadriceps muscle weakness. The development of stance control orthoses can potentially improve their functionality. OBJECTIVES The aim of this review was to compare the evidence of the effect of stance control orthoses to knee-ankle-foot orthoses with drop locked ...

OBJECTIVE To develop a clinical prediction rule to identify patients with patellofemoral pain (PFP) who are more likely to benefit from foot orthoses. DESIGN Posthoc analysis of one treatment arm of a randomised clinical trial. SETTING Single-centre trial in a community setting in Brisbane, Australia. PARTICIPANTS 42 participants (mean age 27.9 years) with a clinical diagnosis of PFP (med...

Bodyweight supported treadmill training has become a prominent gait rehabilitation method in leading rehabilitation centers. This type of locomotor training has many functional benefits but the labor costs are considerable. To reduce therapist effort, several groups have developed large robotic devices for assisting treadmill stepping. A complementary approach that has not been adequately explo...

Background Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) is the most common inherited peripheral neuropathy and is associated with foot deformity, gait abnormalities and functional impairment. Orthoses are often prescribed for children with CMT, yet the indication and type of prescription is usually based on clinical judgement due to the lack of high quality research in this field. Therefore, the aims of t...

BACKGROUND This pilot study investigated whether semi-rigid and soft orthoses had an effect on pain, disability and functional limitation in participants with chronic rheumatoid hindfoot involvement. METHODS Participants with chronic hindfoot pain were randomly assigned to 2 groups, commencing either with semi-rigid Subortholene orthoses or soft EVA orthoses. The Foot Function Index and the R...