Short-Term Effects of Foot Orthoses and Antipronation Taping on the Center of Pressure and Ground Reaction Forces of People With Flat Feet During Running

Abstract

Background and Aims Several treatments have been recommended to enhance the running mechanics of individuals with flat feet. Less emphasis has been paid to the impact of these treatments on the ground reaction forces (GRF) and the center of pressure (COP), while these kinetic effects are essential in identifying possible injuries and the body’s compensatory mechanisms in response to any therapeutic approach. The present study aimed to compare the effects of foot orthoses and antipronation taping on COP and GRF on the running of people with flat feet. Methods The present study was quasi-experimental with a randomized cross-over design. The kinematic and kinetic data of 20 young people with flexible flat feet were measured while running under three conditions: athletic shoes, athletic shoes with foot orthoses (FO), and athletic shoes with low-Dye (LD) tape. A one-way repeated measure analysis of variance from the SPM1d package was used to compare differences in GRF and COP time series under different conditions. Results The results showed that foot orthoses reduced the anteroposterior GRF compared to low-Dye tape and increased the lateral GRF compared to athletic shoes alone. However, the conditions did not significantly affect the vertical GRF (P<0.05). Moreover, FO-shoes and LD-shoes caused medial and lateral shifts in COP, respectively (P<0.05). Conclusion This research showed that foot orthoses cause inefficient force transmission in the anterior direction. Furthermore, running with FO-shoes and LD-shoes substantially influences COP displacements towards the end of the stance phase; however, it does not appear to increase running-related injuries since minimal load and forces are applied to the joint at that time.