How Effective are Orthotic Inserts?

Plantar fasciitis is, unfortunately, a fairly common foot ailment. And it’s often treated with foot orthotic inserts, or ‘orthoses’. A new study, reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine, examined the effectiveness of orthoses.

One hundred and thirty-five patients with plantar fasciitis were randomly allocated to wear a sham orthosis (soft thin foam), an off-the-shelf orthosis (firm foam), or a customized orthosis (semi-rigid foam). After 3 months, estimates of pain and function were made. Pain was reduced and function improved most with the off-the-shelf orthoses, followed by the customized orthoses; the sham orthoses did worst. The benefits were, however, not great.

Results after 12 months showed no significant differences between the three types of inserts. The researchers conclude that orthoses ‘produce short-term benefits in function and may also produce small reductions in pain for people with plantar fasciitis, but they do not have long-term beneficial effects’. Off-the-shelf and customized orthoses produced very similar results. This suggests that there should be no need for you to buy expensive customized orthotic inserts. There are other, probably better, treatments for plantar fasciitis.