Effect of Arch Support Foot Orthosis on Pain Severity in Recreational Runners with Shin Splint during Running

Background and Amis: 

Shin splint is one of the most common causes of painful shins in athletes. The use of arch support foot orthosis can be used in the prevention and treatment of shin splint. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of arch support foot orthosis on the pain intensity of recreational runners with shin splint during running.

A total of 50 women with shin splint aged 20-35 years were randomly assigned to either experimental (n = 25) or control (n = 25) groups. Experimental group received the foot orthosis for 18 weeks combined with the usual treatment. In control group, they underwent only usual treatment. Pain was assessed via Visual Analogue Scale and severity of injury was assessed using Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome questionnaire, extent of injury caused using running test, and patient's perceived level of change was assessed using the Global Change Scale. All variables were measured before the intervention and 6 weeks, 12 weeks, and 18 weeks after the intervention..

The results demonstrated that pain severity (P=0.001) and injury severity (P=0.02) were significant for the experimental group compared with those of the control group six months after the intervention. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups at weeks 12 and 18 (P˃0.05).

The results of the current study showed that the use of arch support foot orthosis combined with multi-component treatment result in the faster reduction of pain severity, severity of injury, and physical restraint, and patients with shin splint reported better perceived therapeutic effects.