ffects of Laterally Wedged Insoles on Knee and Subtalar oint Moments

Objective: To assess the biomechanic effects of wearing a ateral wedge on the knee joint varus moment during gait in lders with and without knee osteoarthritis (OA). Design: Crossover design whereby subjects walked under 2 ifferent insole conditions: a 0° control wedge and a 6° lateral edge. Setting: A gait laboratory with 3-dimensional motion analsis and force platform equipment. Participants: Thirteen healthy subjects and 13 knee patients ith OA. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Frontal plane angles and moents at the knee and subtalar joints, ground reaction forces, nd center of pressure. Moments were derived by using a -dimensional inverse dynamics model of the lower extremity. Results: The 6° lateral wedge significantly reduced knee oint varus moment and increased subtalar joint valgus moment n both groups when compared with no wedge. All patients had greater knee joint varus moment with a similar subtalar joint algus moment compared with the people without OA. There ere diverse, sometimes reversed effects with the insole mong the patients. Conclusions: The 6° lateral wedge did not consistently educe the knee joint varus moment in patients with knee OA. he biomechanic indications and limitations of laterally edged insoles should be confirmed by a larger study.