Effects of footwear modification along with physiotherapy on activity of daily living (ADLS) in patients with medial knee osteoarthritis

Abstract

Background: the management of osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee with biomechanical therapies claimed that application of orthotic devices is another crucial component of a rehabilitation program. Several footwear modifications are used to lessen medial knee loading (MKL), which helps to reduce pain and other symptoms. Objective: to compare the effects of lateral heel wedge insole alone and in combination with medial arch support on ADLs in patient with medial knee OA. Methodology: A randomized clinical trial was conducted on n=60 patients with medial knee OA were randomly allocated in to group A, received lateral heel wedge insole (LHWI) along with medial arch support (MAS) and group B only adjusted with LHWI. Nonprobability convenient sampling technique was used to collect the data on the knee injury and osteoarthritis outcomes score (KOOS) was used as outcome measures. The outcome measures were assessed at the baseline, and after 8 and 16 weeks. Results: The results of independent t-test showed that group A which received LHWI along with MAS showed more significant improvement (p<0.05) in pain, ADLs, sports activity on KOOS questionnaire at each level of assessment than group B which only received the LHWI. But KOOS quality of life scores only showed significant improvement after 8 weeks of intervention in group A while after 16th weeks no significant difference (p=0.09) was observed. Conclusion: the lateral wedge insoles with medial arch support combined with conventional physical therapy protocol is more effective to improve activities of daily living (ADLS) in patients having medial knee osteoarthritis. Keywords: Footwear, osteoarthritis, lateral heel wedge insoles, KOOS, ADLs.