As a podiatrist, I am always banging on about the success of orthotics. Not only have I been to university and studied all of the concepts relating to them, but I see their benefits in the clinic daily. However, in all honesty, it can mean next to nothing when you don’t have any evidence to back it all up. Here are a few examples of research findings which will hopefully aid anyone who is unsure about purchasing or utilising orthoses as part of their treatment plan.

Patient Satisfaction:

• “275 patients that had custom foot orthoses for over a year, the majority of subjects obtained between 60-100% relief of symptoms with only 9% reporting no relief...” (Walter et al., 2004)

• “83% of 520 patients were satisfied and 95% reported their problem had partially or completely resolved with orthoses.” (Moraros J et al., 1993)

• “91% were ‘satisfied with orthoses’ and 52% ‘wouldn’t leave home without them’.” (Donnatelli R et al., 1988)

Plantar Fasciitis (Heel Pain):

• “75% reduction in disability rating…66% reduction in pain rating with foot orthoses.” (Gross MT et al., 2002)

• “89% patients receiving only the orthotic therapy had total or more than 80% relief of their symptoms. 7% received partial relief… Maximum relief was achieved at an average of 5.4 weeks.” (Scherer, PR, et al., 1991)

• “85 patients with plantar heel pain found that after 12 weeks of treatment with custom functional orthoses 70% of the patients achieved good to excellent results.” (Lynch DM et al., 1998)

Arthritis:

• “…patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) showed a significant improvement in pain and a decrease in foot disability when the patients wore custom foot orthoses.” (Chalmers AC et al., 2000)

• “…osteoarthritis in the foot and ankle, 100% of the patients wearing orthoses had significantly longer relief of pain than those patients receiving only non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.” (Thompson JA et al., 1992)

Knee Pain:

• “…102 athletic patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome, 76.5% of patients improved and 2% were asymptomatic after 2-4 weeks of receiving the custom foot orthoses.” (Saxena A et al., 2003)

• “A study of 30 persons with medial knee osteoarthritis were given foot orthoses… At 6 weeks, all subjects had some relief and 28 found the orthoses comfortable.” (Rubin et al., 2005)

Back Pain:

• “…subjects experienced more than twice the improvement in alleviation of pain, and for twice as long, compared with subjects using traditional back-pain treatment.” (Dananberg HJ et al., 1999)

Running Injuries:

• “Foot orthoses were shown to “definitely help” 70% of 180 patients with athletic injuries.” (Blake RL et al., 1985)

• “Orthotic treatment resulted in complete resolution/great improvement in symptoms in 76% of 500 distance runners.” (Gross ML et al., 1991)

Ball of the Foot Pain:

• “Orthoses were found to significantly decrease the plantar force, peak plantar pressure and pain in 42 subjects.” (Postema et al., 1998)

Children:  

• “…treating the excessive pronation (flat feet) with orthotic devices reduced the “growing pains” affecting the legs...” (Evans et al., 2003)

• “…juvenile idiopathic arthritis were found to have significantly greater improvements in overall pain, speed of ambulation, foot pain and level of disability when they wore custom foot orthoses.” (Powell et al, 2005)