The Effects of Foot Orthoses and Shoes on the Biomechanics of the Lower Limbs and Balance in Individuals with Pronated Feet: A Review Study

Foot pronation, as one of the prevalent foot abnormalities, can influence the biomechanics of the lower limbs. The use of various foot orthoses, including insoles and braces, is very common in eliminating this problem. The results obtained regarding the effect of orthoses on pain and biomechanics of individuals with foot pronation are different. The present review study was conducted to evaluate the effects of foot orthoses and shoes on the biomechanics of the lower limbs and balance in individuals with foot pronation. The articles were searched in Persian and Latin languages during 2004-22 in the databases of PubMed, Web of Science (WOS), Scopus, Islamic Science Citation (ISC), and Google Scholar search engine. Moreover, the types of the searched studies were original research, review studies, and clinical trials. Using keywords of Foot pronation, Foot orthoses, Medical soles, and Motion-control shoes, 52 relevant articles were selected, and 22 articles regarding the effects of orthoses and shoes on foot pronation were finally analyzed. Eight articles also reported that reducing forces imposed on the joints, absorbing shock, preventing pronation-related running injuries, and improving muscle activity occurred when using orthosis. Furthermore, 4 articles reported improving sports performance in athletes, reducing the ground reaction forces, and changing the frequency of muscle activity. Finally, 2 articles showed that motion-control shoes prevented intensifying the injury due to increased fatigue and subsequently increased mechanical loading during running. The results of the present study demonstrated that foot orthoses and motion-control shoes could have positive effects on balance, improving the activities of the lower limbs and reducing foot pronation and force imposed on the foot and lower limb joints.