PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Kathryn Mills AU - Peter Blanch AU - Priya Dev AU - Michael Martin AU - Bill Vicenzino TI - A randomised control trial of short term efficacy of in-shoe foot orthoses compared with a wait and see policy for anterior knee pain and the role of foot mobility AID - 10.1136/bjsports-2011-090204 DP - 2012 Mar 01 TA - British Journal of Sports Medicine PG - 247--252 VI - 46 IP - 4 4099 - http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/46/4/247.short 4100 - http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/46/4/247.full SO - Br J Sports Med2012 Mar 01; 46 AB - Objectives To investigate the short-term clinical efficacy of in-shoe foot orthoses over a wait-and-see policy in the treatment of anterior knee pain (AKP) and evaluate the ability of foot posture measures to predict outcome. Design Single-blind, randomised control trial. Participants Forty participants (18–40 years) with clinically diagnosed AKP of greater than 6-week duration, who had not been treated with orthoses in the previous 5 years. Intervention Prefabricated orthoses perceived as most comfortable from a selection of 3 different hardness values compared with a wait-and-see control group. Outcome measures Participant-perceived global improvement, Kujala Patellofemoral Score, usual and worst pain severity over the previous week and the Patient Specific Functional Scale measures at 6 weeks. Results Foot orthoses produced a significant global improvement compared with the control group (p = 0.008, relative risk reduction = 8.47%, numbers needed to treat = 2). Significant differences also occurred in measures of function (standardised mean difference = 0.71). Within the intervention group, individuals who exhibited a change in midfoot width from weight bearing to non-weight bearing of >11.25 mm were more likely to report a successful outcome (correct classification 77.8%). Conclusion This is the first study to show orthoses provide greater improvements in AKP than a wait-and-see approach. Individuals with greater midfoot mobility are more likely to experience success from treatment. Trial Registration ACTRN12611000492954