The Effects of Transverse Arch Insole Application on Body Stability in Subject with Flat Foot

Abstract

Background The most commonly applied therapeutic intervention is foot orthosis (insole or wedge) for arch support. However, the effect of these varies and remains controversial. Most of the studies were that investigated the muscle activity of insole application, and there was no information on what kind of recovery effect it had functionally. Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of transverse arch insole on lower extremity kinematics in subject with flat feet during one-leg standing. Study design A cross-sectional study Methods Fifteen young women and five men participated in this study. Participants performed one leg standing between with and without transverse arch support. During one-leg standing, lower extremity movements (vertical/horizontal displacement of knee/ankle joints) were video-recorded and then analyzed using Kinovea software. A paired <italic>t</italic>-test was used to compare the characteristics between with and without the transverse arch insole. Results The use of a transverse arch insole significantly decreased the vertical and horizontal displacement of the knee and the vertical displacement of the ankle during one-leg standing in subject with flat foot (<italic>p</italic>&lt;0.05). Conclusions Our study investigated the effects of transverse arch support on lower kinematics in subject with flat feet during one leg standing. During one-leg standing, there were significant differences between with and without transverse arch insole in lower extremities kinematics (vertical/horizontal displacement of knee/ankle joints). Therefore, it was confirmed that supporting the transverse arch when treating or managing subjects with flat feet can reduce unnecessary lower extremity movements and increase the stability of the body extremities.