Do Orthotics Help With Back Pain??

For years, Physiotherapists and Chiropractors have prescribed custom orthotics for patients experiencing low back pain.

Why?

Mechanics. This isn’t rocket science but your foot is your first point of contact with the ground. If your foot contacts the ground in an “un-natural” fashion we reasonably assume that the poor mechanics will follow up the chain and contribute to knee pain, hip pain, and low back pain. Picture the extreme example of wearing 3-inch red bottomed Loutoutin shoes and the effect on your centre of gravity and ground reaction forces through your joints.. ouch!

But… we love science.. and want research based decisions right?

Well.. a recent randomized controlled study(1) of over 225 participants showed that prescribing orthotics alone decreased perception of low back pain 58% and low back disability 38% over 6 weeks!!

Pretty amazing … but

The same study demonstrated a 70% decrease in low back pain and 58% decrease in disability over 6 weeks when orthotics were prescribed in addition to manual therapies performed by their practitioner!!

So ….final answer?

Orthotics appropriately prescribed by a physiotherapist or chiropractor can help to significantly reduce chronic low back pain and disability and should be considered as part of your therapy program.

If you have any questions about orthotics or this study feel free to hit me up at: matt@foundationphysio.com

stay wavy,

M

Special thank you to the team at RRS Education for highlighting, summarizing, and making the above research available for practitioners like myself.

1. Cambron J, Dexheimer J, Duarte M, Freels S.(2017). Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2017; 98(9): 1752-62.