Lateral wedges in knee osteoarthritis: What are their immediate clinical and biomechanical effects and can these predict a three-month clinical outcome?

Abstract

Objective. To assess immediate effects of laterally wedged insoles on walking pain, external knee adduction moment, and static alignment, and whether these immediate effects together with age, body mass index, and disease severity predict clinical outcome after 3 months of wearing insoles in medial knee osteoarthritis. Methods. Forty volunteers (mean age 64.7 years, 16 men) were tested in random order with and without a pair of 5° full-length lateral wedges. Immediate changes in static alignment were measured via radiographic mechanical axis and changes in adduction moment via 3-dimensional gait analysis. After 3 months of treatment with insoles, changes in pain and physical functioning were..