The rearfoot medial wedge effect on the calcaneus and tibial position in static

Abstract

Grounds and objetive. There is an etiology variety for the foot pathology and the lower extremity, being one of them the bad alignment of its sectors. The plantar orthoses are an therapeutic element that are commonly used. Its clinical effect of the reduction of painful symptomatology is demonstrated, but its mechanism of action is still to be proved. This study’s objective is to confirm if there are movements in the tibial and calcaneus alignment related to the isolated use of rearfoot orthotic device with different medial heights in static.
Material and methods. 17 healthy subjects were selected for this study and the tibial and calcaneus position was measured, while the subjects were standing up, in the three planes of space in 4 different situations: without orthotic device and with rearfoot orthotic device of 3, 6 and 9 mm medial height. The electronic goniometry Fastrak Polhemus Patriot ® was used for the measurement.
Results. The isolated use of rearfoot orthotic devices with different medial heights produced significant inversion movement in the calcaneus (adduction, varus and plantar flexion) and an internal rotation, valgus and rear movement in the tibial (p<0,05) during the different situations.
Conclusions. The isolated use of rearfoot orthotic devices with different medial heights affects the tibial and calcaneus posistion in the three planes of space.