Study of an Orthotic Designed to Equalize Leg Lengths for Patients With Injuries Managed in Walking Boots

Not Applicable

Completed

Brief Summary: Patients who undergo foot and ankle surgery are often made weight-bearing as tolerated (WBAT) in a controlled ankle movement (CAM) boot during their recovery and rehabilitation process. However, some patients may experience pain and discomfort while wearing the CAM boot. A possible cause for this pain is that the boot elevates the injured foot higher than the other foot in the normal shoe. This uneven walking plane can lead to an abnormal gait or walking pattern, and may potentially lead to pain. Our goal is the investigate if using a leg-length-evening orthotic can improve balance and/or decrease the development of pain in the legs and spine for patients who are WBAT in a CAM boot.

Detailed Description: Patients with foot and ankle injuries are often made weight-bearing as tolerated (WBAT) in a controlled ankle movement (CAM) boot at some point during their recovery and rehabilitation period. While WBAT in a CAM boot, patients often experience an asymmetric gait associated with the effective leg length discrepancy between the booted extremity (longer) and the contralateral extremity with a regular shoe (shorter). This asymmetry may cause balance problems or place strain on the patient's joints resulting in back, knee, and hip pain.

An orthotic has been designed that is added to the outside of a regular shoe in order to eliminate the effective leg length discrepancy between the booted extremity and the contralateral limb. Although this specific orthotic has not been studied, some proof of concept lies in studies that show that back pain can be managed with foot orthotics. The purpose of this study is to determine if using the leg-length-evening orthotic can improve balance and/or decrease the development of pain in the lower extremities and spine for patients who are WBAT in a CAM boot.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria

must be weight bearing as tolerated and treated for at least 2 weeks in a controlled ankle movement boot.

Exclusion Criteria

unwilling to participate
being treated for an Achilles tendon rupture (and therefore being treated in a controlled ankle boot with heel lifts)
member of a special population

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Orthotic Group	Evenup	Subjects enrolled in the orthotic group receive the orthotic (Evenup) meant to increase the effective leg length of the uninjured limb.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Patient Reported Pain	2 weeks	Patient reported assessment of joint pain while wearing the controlled ankle movement boot on scales of 1 - 10 (higher values indicate more pain).
Patient Reported Balance	2 weeks	Patient reported assessment of their balance while wearing the controlled ankle movement boot on a scale of 1 - 10 (higher values indicate better balance).

Secondary Outcome Measures