Effects of customized foot orthotics on reported disability and analgesic use in patients with chronic low back pain associated with motor vehicle collisions

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare reported disability due to chronic low back pain following a motor vehicle collision between groups of those using customized foot orthotics and those not using orthotics. Methods: Sixty-six consecutive patients referred from primary care medical physicians for the complaint of chronic (N 3 months) low back pain following a motor vehicle collision were included. Thirty patients received "usual care" that included prescription of an exercise therapy program in addition to analgesics. Thirty-four patients received the same therapy along with customized foot orthotics. All patients completed the Oswestry Disability Index at the initiation of the study and at 8-week follow-up. The number of participants using any type of prescription analgesic for their back pain at baseline and at 8 weeks was also recorded. Results: All patients completed treatment, and the baseline and 8-week questionnaires. Both treatment groups were well matched in terms of age, sex distribution, and duration of low back pain, as well as baseline Oswestry Disability Index score. At 8 weeks, although both groups had improved, the group that used orthotics had a lower Oswestry Disability Index than the usual care group (P b .05), with a smaller proportion of the orthotics group using any form of prescribed analgesics for back pain (P b .05). Conclusions: In this study, patients with chronic low back pain following a motor vehicle collision who used orthotics in addition to usual care had improved short-term outcomes compared with usual care alone.

Shoe Orthotics for the Treatment of Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…There are several small-scale or lower-quality studies investigating the use of shoe orthotics for the treatment of LBP demonstrating mixed results. 11,[50][51][52][56][57][58][59][60] Likewise, the studies that included chiropractic care along with shoe orthotics demonstrated trends toward improvement of LBP and/or lower extremity symptoms [61][62][63][64] ; however, there was some variability in outcomes.…”

“…One of most commonly used measurements in the literature for low back disability, particularly in studies involving orthotics, is the ODI, [47][48][49][50][51][52] a condition-specific questionnaire covering 10 areas of daily living. The measured areas include pain intensity, personal care, lifting, walking, sitting, standing, sleeping, sex life, social life, and traveling.…”