Effects of medially posted insoles on foot and lower limb mechanics across walking and running in overpronating men

Anti-pronation orthoses, like medially posted insoles (MPI), have traditionally been used to treat various of lower limb problems. Yet, we know surprisingly little about their effects on overall foot motion and lower limb mechanics across walking and running, which represent highly different loading conditions. To address this issue, multi-segment foot and lower limb mechanics was examined among 11 overpronating men with normal (NORM) and MPI insoles during walking (self-selected speed 1.70 ± 0.19 m/s vs 1.72 ± 0.20 m/s, respectively) and running (4.04 ± 0.17 m/s vs 4.10 ± 0.13 m/s, respectively). The kinematic results showed that MPI reduced the peak forefoot eversion movement in respect to both hindfoot and tibia across walking and running when compared to NORM (p < 0.05-0.01). No differences were found in hindfoot eversion between conditions. The kinetic results showed no insole effects in walking, but during running MPI shifted center of pressure medially under the foot (p < 0.01) leading to an increase in frontal plane moments at the hip (p < 0.05) and knee (p < 0.05) joints and a reduction at the ankle joint (p < 0.05). These findings indicate that MPI primarily controlled the forefoot motion across walking and running. While kinetic response to MPI was more pronounced in running than walking, kinematic effects were essentially similar across both modes. This suggests that despite higher loads placed upon lower limb during running, there is no need to have a stiffer insoles to achieve similar reduction in the forefoot motion than in walking.