title: Biomechanical effects of lateral and medial wedge insoles on unilateral weight bearing.
abstract: [Purpose] Lateral wedge insoles reduce the peak external knee adduction moment and are advocated for patients with knee osteoarthritis. However, some patients demonstrate adverse biomechanical effects with treatment. In this study, we examined the immediate effects of lateral and medial wedge insoles under unilateral weight bearing. [Subjects and Methods] Thirty healthy young adults participated in this study. The subjects were assessed by using the foot posture index, and were divided into three groups: normal foot, pronated foot, and supinated foot groups. The knee adduction moment and knee-ground reaction force lever arm under the studied conditions were measured by using a three-dimensional motion capture system and force plates. [Results] In the normal and pronated groups, the change in knee adduction moment significantly decreased under the lateral wedge insole condition compared with the medial wedge insole condition. In the normal group, the change in the knee-ground reaction force lever arm also significantly decreased under the lateral wedge insole condition than under the medial wedge insole condition. [Conclusion] Lateral wedge insoles significantly reduced the knee adduction moment and knee-ground reaction force lever arm during unilateral weight bearing in subjects with normal feet, and the biomechanical effects varied according to individual foot alignment.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomonori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sawada
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation, Hiroshima International University, Japan.
authors.forename: Nobuhiro
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kito
authors.affiliation: Kawagoe Orthopedic Hospital, Japan.
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yukimune
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tokuda
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tanimoto
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Japan.
authors.forename: Masaya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Anan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Japan.
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Japan.
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shinkoda
keywords: Foot posture index; Knee adduction moment; Wedge insoles