A comparative study of footwear alteration and exercise to improve functional activity in flat foot

Aim: The aim of the study is to compare the effectiveness of footwear alteration and footwear alteration with exercise in improving the functional activities in subjects with flatfoot. Background of the study: Flatfoot is one of the most common postural deformities, in which the arches of the foot become collapsed. This results in increased load in the first metatarsal and increased stress in the ligaments which supports the joints of the medial arch, these changes leads to a disturbance in the functional activities. Hence the study aimed to compare the effectiveness of footwear alteration and footwear alteration combined with exercise in improving the functional activities in subjects with flatfoot. Methodology: Once the study is approved by the institutional review broad, 30 out of 40 volunteers were selected based on the inclusion criteria. It is an experimental study carried out for the duration of 6week, in out-patient department of physiotherapy in ACS Medical college and Hospital, in which the individuals were randomly selected and divided into two groups (each of 15 individuals). Group-A treated with footwear alteration and group-B treated with footwear alteration along with exercises (heel raising, toe curling, short foot, toe raising, calf stretching). Navicular drop test and VAS were used pre and post to the test to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment given to the individuals. Result: On comparing the mean values of navicular drop test and VAS, pre and post to the treatment, the group-B has shown highly significant improvement in the functional activities(***- P ≤ 0.001) than the group-A(*- P > 0.05), and highly significant reduction in pain in both the group (***- P ≤ 0.001).