Compliance of patients wearing an orthotic device or orthopedic shoes: A systematic review

SummaryBackgroundAlongside the positive effects of use of orthotic devices for the lower extremities (ODLE) and orthopedic shoes, complaints and criticism by users possibly lead to non-compliance.ObjectiveThe purpose is to determine the compliance of patients wearing an ODLE or orthopedic shoes and to describe the main reasons for using and not using.MethodsDifferent online databases were searched for articles about patients' compliance with regard to an ODLE or orthopedic shoes. A methodological quality control was conducted.ResultsTen studies (1576 patients) were included. The data revealed between 6 and 80% not users. Several reasons for not using the orthotic device were described (e.g. pain, discomfort and cosmetically unacceptable).ConclusionsThe high percentage of patients who are not wearing the prescribed orthotic devices leads to a high financial loss for society and a waste of therapeutic effort. These results should be taken into account during the design, construction and selection process of orthotic devices.