The effect of flat and textured insoles on the balance of primary care elderly people: a randomized controlled clinical trial

Abstract

BackgroundAging is associated with reduced postural stability and increased fall risk. Foot orthoses have been reported as an adjuvant intervention to improve balance by stimulating foot plantar mechanical receptors and thus increasing somatosensory input.PurposeThe aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of flat and textured insoles on the balance of primary care elderly people.DesignProspective, parallel, randomized, and single-blind trial.MethodsA total of 100 subjects from a primary care unit, aged ≥65 years, were randomly assigned to intervention groups with flat insoles (n=33), textured insoles (n=33), or control group (n=34) without insoles. The Berg Balance Scale and the Timed Up and Go test were assessed at baseline and after 4 weeks.ResultsImprovements in the Berg Balance Scale and the Timed Up and Go test were noted only in intervention groups with insoles but not in control group. No significant difference was found between flat and textured insoles. Minor adverse effects were noted only in the group with textured insoles.ConclusionThe results suggest that foot orthoses (both flat and textured insoles) are effective in improving balance in primary care elderly people. They may represent a low-cost and high-availability adjuvant strategy to improve balance and prevent falls in this population.

The effect of age, sex and a firm-textured surface on postural control

“…Some studies found improvements in postural control during static balance using soft textured insoles made in Evalite Pyramid EVA (Kenny et al 2019b ) or rigid textured surface made from plastic floor matting material (Corbin et al 2007 ; Annino et al 2015 ; Vieira et al 2017 ) in healthy young subjects. Other studies used soft (Hatton et al 2011 ; de Morais Barbosa et al 2018 ), semi-rigid (Palluel et al 2008 ), and rigid materials (Palazzo et al 2015 ; Annino et al 2018 ) to investigate postural stability in elderly people finding different results about analyzed postural parameters. Palluel et al ( 2008 , 2009 ) investigated the effects of sandals equipped with spike insoles, finding no immediate effects, but an improvement of postural control after 5 min standing or walking in elderly and young adults.…”

A comparison of the efficacy of textured insoles on balance performance in older people with versus without plantar callosities

“…Also, Qu [29] did not observe any difference in static stability but reported that rigidity of the insole could improve the participant's mobility. De Morias Barbosa et al [30] have shown that using both textured and smooth insoles in older people with normal plantar sensation could immediately improve the dynamic balance measured with TUG. The results of the literature mentioned above are in line with the findings of our study and indicate that the textured insoles do not immediately change the postural sway of older people with normal plantar sensation (although they could improve the mobility of the users).…”

Effect of lateral-wedge insole on the center of foot pressure and lower extremity muscle activity at gait initiation in patients with medial knee osteoarthritis

“…The other factors affecting static standing balance include toe muscle strength10 ) and plantar sensation11 ) . In addition, the insoles reportedly improve body sway12 ) . A previous report has shown that a textured insole is more effective in stabilizing the posture than a flat insole suggesting that insole surface shape affects static balance13 ) .…”