Foot Orthoses for the Prevention of Lower Limb Overuse Injuries in Naval Recruits: Study Protocol for a Randomised Controlled Trial

by MASS4D® Prescription Orthotics January 16, 2017

Foot orthoses are commonly used to treat several musculoskeletal disorders of the lower extremity; there is evidence that they alter kinematics, kinetics, and/or muscle activity of the lower limb.

The purpose of the study was to determine if prefabricated foot orthoses reduce the incidence of common lower limb overuse injuries in naval recruits undertaking 11 weeks of basic training.

Participants were randomised to a control group (flat insole) or an intervention group (prefabricated foot orthoses).

Three data collection sessions were conducted: baseline (session 1), week 2 (session 2) and week 11 (session 3).

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An initial assessment (baseline) was performed to determine the eligibility of participants – injury history, general demographic data, physical assessments and anthropometric measures were collected.

Once all baseline measures were collected, a therapist allocated the participants to one of the two groups.

In week 2, a review was conducted of participants who did not find their insoles comfortable. The insoles were inspected to ensure that they fit the shoes and foot properly and re-moulded accordingly.

In week 11, self-report diaries maintained by the participants were collected and their accuracy confirmed.

If lower limb pain was experienced by the participants at this stage, the assessor attempted to determine the presence of medial tibial stress syndrome, patellofemoral pain, Achilles tendinopathy and plantar fasciitis.

Secondary outcome measures included: overall incidence of lower limb pain, severity of lower limb pain, time to injury, time to drop-out due to injury, adverse events, number of lost training days, shoe comfort and general health status.

With the recruitment of participants having commenced on the 28th of January, 2015, the final results of the study were expected to be available in 2016, at the time of publishing.

Copyright 2017 MASS4D® All rights reserved.

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References:

1. Daniel R. Bonanno, George S. Murley, Shannon E. Munteanu, Karl B. Landorf, Hylton B. Menz (2015) Foot orthoses for the prevention of lower limb overuse injuries in naval recruits: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Journal of Foot and Ankle Research: September 2015, Vol. 8, No. 51, DOI 10.1186/s13047-015-0109-2

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