Insoles for Back Pain: Gimmick or Real Benefit?
Monday, September 20, 2010 at 7:44AMBack pain is one of the most common health problems in the industrialized world. People have tried just about everything as a solution for the backaches that seem to plague us all.
In a prior blog post (http://www.backexercisedoctor.com/journal/2010/2/18/limb-length-discrepancy-and-back-pain.html ), I commented on a study that looked at leg length discrepancies. 45 patients were examined by two chiropractors. 100% of the participants in the study were judged by both clinicians to have a limb length discrepancy.[1] That about fits my experience in that most everyone I talk to has been told at one time or another that one of their legs is longer than the other.
In an effort to correct supposed limb length discrepancies shoe lifts or othoses are frequently prescribed. However, evidence for any utility of these lifts is woefully lacking.[2] Moreover, “older individuals were shown to experience more adverse events from lift intervention.” [3]
Even separate from this issue of limb length discrepancy, insoles and shoe inserts are often recommended for the prevention of treatment of back pain. It is often suggested that insoles might absorb shock, prevent excessive pronation, or do other miraculous things. However, data from a number of different studies done on this issue have shown that “pooled results do not support the claim that insoles prevent back pain.” [4]
So, are insoles right for you? I do not often prescribe them. To my reading, the evidence does not generally support their utility. A practitioner in the journal Podiatry Today referred to custom molded shoe inserts as “revenue enhancement opportunities.”[5]
You decide.
[1] J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 1995 Jul-Aug;18(6):343-6.
[2] Spine. 2009 (34) 924-933
[3] Spine. 2009 (34) 924-933
[4] Spine. 2009 (34) 924-933
[5] Podiatry Today. 2004. (17)
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