Foot Orthoses and Physiotherapy for Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome
Author Information
Author(s): Collins Natalie, Crossley Kay, Beller Elaine, Darnell Ross, McPoil Thomas, Vicenzino Bill
Primary Institution: University of Queensland
Hypothesis
Foot orthoses would be superior to flat inserts and equivalent to physiotherapy, and the combination of foot orthoses and physiotherapy would be superior to physiotherapy alone.
Conclusion
Foot orthoses are better than flat inserts for short-term management of patellofemoral pain syndrome, but they do not provide additional benefits when combined with physiotherapy.
Supporting Evidence
- Foot orthoses showed significant improvement over flat inserts at six weeks.
- All treatment groups had clinically meaningful improvements over 52 weeks.
- Combining foot orthoses with physiotherapy did not yield additional benefits.
Takeaway
Foot orthoses help people with knee pain feel better faster than flat inserts, but they don't make physiotherapy work any better.
Methodology
A single blind, randomised clinical trial comparing foot orthoses, flat inserts, physiotherapy, and a combination of foot orthoses and physiotherapy over 52 weeks.
Potential Biases
Participants were not selected based on foot posture, which may affect the generalizability of the results.
Limitations
No control group for clinical course; potential type I error due to multiple comparisons.
Participant Demographics
179 participants aged 18-40 years, 100 women, with a clinical diagnosis of patellofemoral pain syndrome.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.01
Confidence Interval
99% CI 0.05 to 1.17
Statistical Significance
p<0.01
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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