Efficacy of lateral wedged insole with subtalar strapping on the functional status of medial compartment 3rd gradeosteoarthritis of the knee

Knee osteoarthritis is the most common disease encountered in the Physical Therapy Clinic. The main outcomes of Physiotherapy treatment is based on symptomatic pain relief along with prevention of deterioration of the functional capacity and improvement in ADL. Among the various conservative treatments for knee OA, lateral wedged insole is the latest treatment concept based on correction of knee varus deformity with the change in foot position. Addition of exercise helps in the maintenance of the correction as muscle strength is required to align the bony levers. This study compares the effect of lateral wedged insole with subtalar strapping along with exercises as treatment option for knee OA with that of exercises alone.

To find out the efficacy of lateral wedged insole with subtalar strapping along with exercises on medial compartment 3rd grade knee OA.

30 subjects were included in the study based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria and clinical criteria for diagnosis of knee OA. The subjects were divided into 2 groups containing 15 each. Both the groups were administered KOOS scale and a baseline assessment was formed for the functional status. Group I was subjected to the use of wedged insole with subtalar strapping along with a set of 5 exercises and Group II was prescribed only exercises for a period of 1 month. At follow-up, the scale were administered again and the effects of the intervention were gauged by comparing the pre intervention and post intervention values.

Based on the effect size and % change, the data analysis reveals that though both the groups had significant effects of the intervention and exercises, the experimental group (group I) showed a higher effect size and percentage change compared to the control group (group II).

It is concluded that lateral wedged insole with subtalar strapping will be highly efficacious if used along with strengthening exercises for patients with medial compartment 3rd grade knee OA.