Foot orthoses in the management of chronic subtalar and talo crural joint pain in rheumatoid arthritis

• Chronic ankle joint complex disease causes significant pain, functional limitation and disability.
• Both orthoses significantly reduced pain, disability and functional limitations.
• Either type of orthoses should be considered as a treatment of painful chronic ankles in RA.

BackgroundThis pilot study investigated whether semi-rigid and soft orthoses had an effect on pain, disability and functional limitation in participants with chronic rheumatoid hindfoot involvement.MethodsParticipants with chronic hindfoot pain were randomly assigned to 2 groups, commencing either with semi-rigid Subortholene orthoses or soft EVA orthoses. The Foot Function Index and the Ritchie Articular Index were administered pre- and post-intervention, which lasted for 3 months. Following a 2 week washout period, each group was switched over to the other type of orthoses.ResultsNine female participants (mean age 52.2 years (SD 9.1); mean weight 71 kg (SD 12.64); mean height 160 cm (SD 5.18)) with a mean RA duration of 11.7 years (SD 7.83), and a mean ankle/subtalar joint pain duration of 5.7 years (SD 2.62), completed the programme. Mean improvement in FFI score for both orthoses resulted in the same statistical significance (p = 0.001). Statistically significant reduction in pain, disability and functional limitation was observed for both interventions, together with improvement in the Ritchie Articular Index score.ConclusionBoth Subortholene and EVA orthoses significantly reduced pain, disability and functional limitations in participants with chronic ankle/subtalar joint pain in rheumatoid arthritis.