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Faculty of Medical Sciences

Ledderhose disease – Effectiveness of rocker profile shoes in pain alleviation

Geerlings, R.F. (Roosmarijn) (2021) Ledderhose disease – Effectiveness of rocker profile shoes in pain alleviation. thesis, Human Movement Sciences.

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Abstract

Background: Stiff rocker profiles with a proximally placed apex position are assumed to decrease plantar aponeurosis strain, which can theoretically reduce pain in patients with Ledderhose disease who suffer from pain during walking. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of stiff rocker profiles with a proximal apex position on pain experience during walking in patients with Ledderhose disease. Method: Patients with Ledderhose disease were measured in two conditions during treadmill walking: 1) with control shoes; 2) with rocker shoes. To assess effectivity of rocker profiles on pain experience, measurements of pain location with associated pain intensity on Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) were collected for both conditions before, during and after 30 minutes treadmill walking. Additionally, in- shoe plantar pressure and step parameters were measured. Results: Eight feet of five patients with Ledderhose disease were included in this study. Pain intensity on NRS score remained the same during walking on rocker shoes, while NRS score increased during walking on control shoes. Within each measurement time (before, during, and after walking) no significantly difference can be found between the shoe conditions. Plantar pressure in the medial midfoot was not changed during walking on control shoes while pain intensity increased. During walking on rocker shoes pain intensity did not change even though plantar pressure in the medial midfoot increased over time. Conclusion: Our results indicated that patients with Ledderhose disease suffer from increasing pain during walking on control shoes. Stiff rocker profiles with a proximal apex position seem to be an effective conservative treatment to prevent the increase in pain during walking. The reduction of plantar aponeurosis strain is the most plausible explanation for the preventive effect of rocker shoes during walking. However, the small amount of included feet in this study need to be taken into account when interpreting the results, and therefore further research is needed.

Item Type: Thesis (UNSPECIFIED)
Supervisor name: Houdijk, H. and Hijmans, J.M. and Haan, A. de
Faculty: Medical Sciences
Date Deposited: 13 May 2022 09:55
Last Modified: 13 May 2022 09:55
URI: https://umcg.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/3297

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