STUDIES & TESTIMONIALS
Goh Tat Chuan_ Footballer Goh Tat Chuan, footballer and mid fielder for Woodlands Wellington FC, had a stress fracture in his left leg a few years ago and even though it was confirmed completely healed, he continued to experience pain at the site, with running. He was treated by Dr. Tho Kam San, a sports orthopaedic surgeon, who eventually fitted him with a pair of Formthotic insoles which helped to balance his feet and legs in a more neutral position, which is one of least stress and optimal efficiency. He has not experienced any more pain since and has continued to play for his club and Singapore regularly. Here he is seen being fitted with another pair of Formthotic insoles by Dr. Leong Lee San, manager of L2S.>
Top Russian Athletes Using FORMTHOTICS
More Top Russian Athletes Using FORMTHOTICS
Tan Ai Ling
Mark Abisheganaden
More Testimomials John Howard - World's Leading Adventure Racer The biggest obstacle challenging adventure racers is the problem of preventing blisters and associated foot complaints. John Howard is competing in the Eco Challenge adventure race in Cairns, Australia as a member of Team Echo-Internet. John is the world's leading adventure racer. He has won two Raid Gauloises'; two Extreme Games adventure races as well as numerous other major endurance races. For the last ten years, John has used Formthotics innersoles in his running shoes. He believes that using Formthotics give him a more stable foot plant, reduces foot movement in the shoes or boots thereby reducing foot/shoe friction. This results in fewer blister problems. John believes every ultra-distance athlete would benefit from using Formthotics. Claudia Riegler - Ski Racer Luke Hoetjes - Elite Triathlete Steve Gurney - Professional Multi-Sport Athlete and Endurance Racer Team Seagate - Adventure Racers
A Danish Study CAN CUSTOM-MADE BIOMECHANIC SHOE ORTHOSES PREVENT PROBLEMS IN THE BACK AND LOWER EXTREMITIES? A randomized, controlled intervention trial of 146 military conscripts. Larsen K, Weidich F, Leboeuf-Yde C. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2002 Jun;25(5):326-31 The Medical Research Unit, Ringkjobing County, Ringkjobing, Denmark. fekl@ringamt.dk Do heat-molded orthotics prevent lower extremity overuse injuries? * Background: > orthotics may prevent excessive subtalar and midtarsal joint pronation >> prevent excessive medial rotation of the tibia, femur and pelvis, which >> prevent further mechanical stress on the knee, hip, and back. * Study background: > 146 Danish military conscripts were studied >> 18-24 years >> 145 males > randomly assigned to 1 of 2 tx groups: > tx period lasted 3 mths >> control - no orthotics > tx - semi-rigid, custom orthotics >> fitted w/ a pair of Formthotics from Foot Science International (New Zealand) www.formthotics.com > fitting procedure for orthotics: >> orthotics placed inside boots and heated until pliable >> conscript put boots on, sat in a chair, and briefly put weight on the outer side of the back of their feet >> they then stood up and shifted their weight to the medial and anterior part of their feet allowing a controlled pronation stayed in this position for 1 minute while the orthotics cooled down. > wear rx: >> conscripts were supposed to use the orthotics whenever they were wearing their military boots * Results: > % of conscripts who developed the following problems > any back or lower extremity problem (ss): >> control - 56% >> tx - 36% > back problems: >> control - 9% >> tx - 9% > knee problems: >> control - 22% >> tx - 28% > shin splints (ss): >> control - 24% >> tx - 5% > achilles tendinitis: >> control - 9% >> tx - 3% > # of conscripts who had to go off duty: >> control - 29% (1 day, avg.) >> tx - 19% (1 day, avg.) * Conclusion: > it may be possible to prevent certain musculoskeletal problemsby using custom-made biomechanic shoe orthoses.
To evaluate the effectiveness of foot orthoses in the treatment of plantar fasciitis over a 12-month period Landorf K B, Keenan A-M & Herbert R D U of Western Sydney, NSW, Australia Introduction The plantar fascia, or plantar aponeurosis, is a tough, fibrous, connective tissue structure that spans the plantar surface of the foot from the inferior heel to the toes. If damaged, inflammation and symptoms develop this condition is commonly referred to as plantar fasciitis. Symptoms usually occur at the plantar fascial attachment to the heel (see Figure 1) and the resultant pain and disability can have a significant impact on a persons health-related quality of life. Plantar fasciitis is one of the most common foot complaints, affecting approximately one in ten people at some time in their life. It is particularly prevalent in runners and people who are overweight, however it is also consistently reported in people with systemic, inflammatory arthritis. Plantar fasciitis is generally considered to be responsive to conservative treatment, with foot orthoses (insoles) being commonly used Type of trial Single-blind randomised clinical trial. Participants - 135 participants with plantar fasciitis were recruited from a University-based Podiatry Clinic. A prospective sample size calculation was conducted to ascertain an appropriate sample size. Inclusion and exclusion criteria - Participants were required to: >be 18 years or older; >have had symptoms of plantar fasciitis for at least 4 weeks; and >be able to complete the health status measurement instruments. Plantar fasciitis was diagnosed from the patient history and clinical assessment. Exclusion criteria included any musculoskeletal, neurological, metabolic or endocrine disorders that may affect the plantar fascia. Randomisation protocol - Participants were randomly assigned to a group according to a computer generated allocation sequence. Telephone randomisation was used to conceal the allocation schedule. Interventions (i) A soft, sham device, (ii) a prefabricated Formthotic, and (iii) a customised, semi-rigid orthosis. The pre-fabricated and customised devices represent commonly used orthoses in clinical practise. Conclusion These results suggest there may be a short-term benefit in function if appropriate foot orthoses are prescribed for the treatment of plantar fasciitis. As there were no differences between the prefabricated and customised orthoses over the 12 months, the cheaper prefabricated orthosis is recommended. Finally, the lack of significant findings at 12 months may simply indicate that plantar fasciitis has a natural course, which for most people is one of gradual resolution References 1. Crawford F, et al. Interventions for treating plantar heel pain (Cochrane Review). The Cochrane Library. 2001(1). 2. Landorf K, et al. Foot Orthosis Prescription Habits of Australian and New Zealand Podiatric Physicians. J. Am. Podiatric Med. Assoc. 2001;91(4):174-183. 3. Bennett PJ, Patterson C. The Foot Health Status Questionnaire (FHSQ): a new instrument for measuring outcomes of footcare. Australasian J. of Podiatric Med. 1998;32(3):87-92. 4. Bennett PJ, et al. Development and validation of a questionnaire designed to measure foot-health status. J. Am. Podiatric Med. Assoc. 1998;88(9):419-428. 5. Landorf KB, Keenan A-M. An evaluation of two foot-specific, health-related quality-of-life measuring instruments. Foot & Ankle Int. 2002;23:538-546.