The immediate effects of sensorimotor foot orthoses on foot kinematics in healthy adults

Abstract

BackgroundSensorimotor foot orthoses is an alternative concept, which in addition to mechanical effects, are designed to change muscle activation by altering sensory input to the plantar surface of the foot. However, there is little evidence of how these affect the kinematics of the foot during gait. Research questionThe aim of the study was to explore the immediate effect of calcaneal medial heel bars and retrocapital bars on foot kinematics during the stance phase of gait. MethodsKinematic data were collected from 32 healthy individuals using an eight camera motion capture system and a six-degrees-of-freedom multi-segment foot model in three different orthotic conditions; calcaneal medial heel bar, retrocapital bar, and no orthosis. Vector field statistical analysis was performed to explore the effect of the orthotic conditions over the kinematic time series curves during stance phase. Peak median and interquartile ranges were also reported during the different phases of stance. ResultsThe calcaneal medial bar significantly decreased rearfoot eversion for the majority of the stance phase and compensatory increased midfoot eversion during the entire stance phase compared to the no orthosis condition. The retrocapital bar rotated the foot externally significantly abducting the rearfoot for the entire stance phase and the midfoot for the majority of stance phase. SignificanceThe calcaneal medial heel bar and retrocapital bar significantly altered the foot kinematics in a way that may benefit patients with abnormal pronation and intoeing gait.