ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Minerva Ortopedica e Traumatologica 2018 September;69(3 Suppl 1):55-9

DOI: 10.23736/S0394-3410.17.03853-X

Copyright © 2017 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

Individual silicone insole design and assessment of effectiveness

Vitaly EPISHEV, Galina YAKOVLEVA ✉, Kristina FEDOROVA

Institute of Sports, Tourism, and Service, South Ural State University, Chelyabinsk, Russia

BACKGROUND: Being a frequent pathology that may lead to even more severe disorder, foot deformities should be managed in the most effective manner. Due to high incidence of foot problems which have to be treated using conservative and surgical methods, the available and effective orthotics becomes absolutely necessary both for conservative treatment and for post-surgery rehabilitation. The aim of our research was to design individual silicone insole and to test its effectiveness using specially developed diagnostic methods.
METHODS: We developed the specially designed and easily manufactured silicone insole together with software for express diagnosis of flat foot, which allows the fabrication of custom-made insoles. We created 3D model of prototype insole in SolidWorks, manufactured the original casting mold to be filled with two-component silicone and designed the equipment for diagnosis and custom-made production. The method for assessment of effectiveness was developed, and the series of experiment was conducted for 35 participants: video analysis of running (12 km/h) using Life Fitness treadmill and 600-fps video recording by Phantom Miro eX2.
RESULTS: The analysis showed that 90% of the participants had abnormalities of biomechanics at the stance phase associated with foot hyperpronation; in 55% the observed abnormalities were induced by foot abduction; and in 48%, foot hyperpronation was combined with the compensatory repositioning of the knee joint. Using the correcting insoles was effective in 33 participants and was mainly followed by changes of the ankle joint angle. In 23 participants the compensatory repositioning of the knee joint became less expressed.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that even being used for the first time the custom-made silicone insole corrects the foot-ankle angle and has a positive effect on foot conditions. Ninety-four percent of the participants report improvements in leg fatigue, knee joint pain, and general well-being.

KEY WORDS: Flatfoot - Mechanical stress - Foot deformities - Rehabilitation - Foot orthoses