Abstract :
Background: Lower back pain poses a significant burden on the economy and can be approximated to be around £2.8 billion in countries like the UK. Studies indicate that young Indian adults, aged 18 to 35 years, have a high prevalence of lower back pain (LBP), with rates reported at 42.4% per year and 22.8% per week. We aimed to study the impact of Standardized Foot Orthoses, with and without Foot Exercises, in the management of Chronic Lower Back Pain in people with Pes Planus.Materials and Methods: The study involved 85 participants who were randomly assigned to two groups, one group (FE, n=42) received foot exercises only, while the other group (FEO, n=43) received both foot exercises and foot orthoses. The level of Lower Back pain was measured using Quebec Disability Scale and Visual Analogue Scale, at the time of inclusion and the conclusion of the duration of eight weeks.Results: Analysis indicated that participants who received both foot exercises and standard foot orthoses experienced a significantly greater reduction in chronic lower back pain (CLBP), with a large effect size (d = 0.89), compared to those who performed foot exercises alone, who showed a medium effect size (d = 0.46) (p < 0.001, Quebec Scale).Conclusion: The results indicate that correcting flat foot using foot exercises alone, as well as in combination with foot orthoses, is an effective measure in the management of chronic lower back pain, with the combination demonstrating a superior effect.
Keyword :
Foot Orthoses, Lower Back Pain, Pes planus, Foot exercises, Meary’s angle.