article · European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine
A randomised controlled trial evaluated the effects of combining short foot exercises with shoe insoles compared to shoe insoles alone for treating symptomatic flexible flatfoot. Forty participants were divided into two groups for a six-week intervention. One group wore insoles for eight hours daily alongside daily short foot exercises, while the control group used insoles alone for the same duration. Thirty-seven participants completed the programme. Assessments evaluated static and dynamic foot area, force, pressure distribution, pain, lower extremity function, and navicular drop. Participants performing both exercises and wearing insoles experienced significantly greater reductions in pain and superior improvements in lower limb function compared to those using only insoles. Foot pressure distribution also showed greater alterations in the combined group, whereas navicular drop decreased equally across both groups.
Flexible flatfoot causes pain and impaired physical function, commonly managed using passive shoe orthotics alone. Demonstrating that adding specific strengthening exercises to standard insole use leads to superior pain relief and mobility offers clinicians a clear, non-invasive therapeutic strategy. This helps individuals suffering from flatfoot regain better movement while reducing daily physical discomfort more effectively.
The findings have direct clinical applicability for physical therapy clinics, podiatrists, and rehabilitation specialists treating flexible flatfoot. The evaluated protocol combines widely available shoe insoles with home-based exercise routines, representing an applied, ready-to-use conservative treatment strategy that requires no proprietary technology. Orthotic manufacturers and digital health providers could also incorporate guided exercise programmes alongside orthosis distribution to offer comprehensive rehabilitation packages.
AI-generated from the published abstract. Always read the original work before citing.
BACKGROUND: Flatfoot is a musculoskeletal problem associated with dysfunctional active and passive supporting structures of the normal foot curvature. Strengthening of the intrinsic foot muscles or using shoe orthosis are recommend treatment approaches. However, investigating the effect of combining both approaches is still warranted. AIM: To examine the effect of applying short foot exercises (SFE) combined with shoe insole versus shoe insole alone on foot pressure measures, pain, function and navicular drop in individuals with symptomatic flexible flatfoot. DESIGN: Prospective, active control, parallel-group, assessor-blinded, randomized controlled trial and intention-to-treat analysis. SETTING: Outpatient physical therapy clinic of a university teaching hospital. POPULATION: Forty participants with symptomatic flexible flatfoot. METHODS: A six-week treatment protocol of SFE (three sets of 10 repetitions a day) in addition to shoe insole (eight hours a day) (experimental group, N.=20) or shoe insole only (eight hours a day) (control group, N.=20). Clinic visits were made at baseline and every two weeks for monitoring and follow-up. The static and dynamic foot area, force and pressure measures, pain, lower extremity function, and navicular drop were assessed at baseline and postintervention. RESULTS: Forty participants joined the study and 37 (92.5%) completed the six-week intervention period. Foot pressure, pain and function showed a significant interaction (P=0.02 - <0.001) and time (P<0.001) effects with a non-significant group effect in favor of the experimental group. Post-hoc analysis revealed that the experimental group had lesser pain (P=0.002) and better function (P=0.03) than the control group at six weeks. Navicular drop decreased equally in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of shoe insole and SFE for six weeks improved pain and function and altered foot pressure distribution greater than shoe insole alone in patients with symptomatic flatfoot. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT: Wearing shoe insole is an easy, but passive, treatment approach for a flatfoot problem. This study provided evidence regarding the added benefit of SFE. It is recommended that rehabilitation practitioners implement a comprehensive treatment protocol including both shoe insole and SFE for at least six weeks to achieve better results for their flatfoot patients.
This page summarises published work. The authoritative version sits with the publisher.
DOI: 10.23736/s1973-9087.23.07846-2
Is something wrong with this record? Report it or request removal.
Discussion
Have you built on this work, tried to replicate it, or seen it applied in practice? Share what you know. Verified researchers and MARATTO™ domain experts can open a discussion, and any member can reply. Contributions are reviewed before they appear.
No discussion yet. Open the first thread.
New to MARATTO™? Create a free account.
